Justin Heinly, owner of Midtown Asset Consulting, during a City Council meeting Tuesday.
Things finally seem to be looking up for residents of a Harrisburg housing development that in recent years became dilapidated, condemned and bankrupt.
At a City Council meeting on Tuesday night, Justin Heinly of Midtown Asset Consulting shared that, while conditions are still “fragile” at the Residences at Governor’s Square, the situation has “stabilized.”
Heinly was named the court-appointed receiver by a Dauphin County judge last year, tasked with taking control of the 218-unit affordable housing development around N. 5th and Maclay streets.
Governor’s Square owners Uptown Partners filed for bankruptcy in 2023, following years of resident complaints about quality-of-life and safety issues, with the property subject to hundreds of city-issued condemnations and citations. After failing to find a buyer for the development, the owners petitioned for a receiver to take over.
“The thing that really motivates me is the impact we have on the city,” Heinly told TheBurg of his decision to accept the position.
Since his appointment in August 2025, Heinly said that his team has worked to stabilize the properties and create a plan for the future of the development.
To date, Heinly said that his team has boarded up 157 units, making sure squatters were removed, which he said has already decreased crime in the area. One of his staff members also does daily rounds of the property.
“We’ve seen a dramatic drop off in the amount of unwanted activity up there,” he told council.
Some units of the Residences at Governor’s Square on Maclay Street
Heinly has also restored eight formerly uninhabitable units and plans to bring another eight back online by Memorial Day. He also noted that he has met with every Governor’s Square tenant and has worked to address their concerns. When asked by council about rent payments, Heinly said that he has forgiven back due rent for tenants who agreed to begin paying moving forward.
Currently, Heinly said that only 23% of the units are occupied. Many of those that are occupied fall on the south side of Maclay Street, units that Heinly said were in much better shape than the north side of Maclay. About 35 of the 75 south of Maclay are occupied, while only 15 of the 134 north of Maclay are occupied.
Heinly said that, in the short-term, the focus will be on restoring the southern units, which are much more feasible and may be completed by 2031. The future of the northern units, many of which were destroyed by squatters and damaged by fires, is still up in the air and dependent on funding resources.
Financially, things have improved a bit. Before, Governor’s Square operated at a substantial deficit, but now is cash-flow neutral. Heinly said that the cash flow will again be at a deficit for about a year while his team makes capital improvements that should pay off after their completion.
Still, Governor’s Square owes $16 million in liabilities to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Harrisburg and Capital Region Water. And Heinly will need to make up a large funding gap to continue redevelopment, which he hopes to fill with grant funds.
Heinly also has access to a $250,000 loan from Harrisburg, which he has not yet tapped into.
Heinly said that, so far, his team has largely been assessing the situation at Governor’s Square and securing the property. The next stage would be to meet with stakeholders, work on future planning and develop a receivership exit strategy. After that, Governor’s Square could be sold or other options considered. Heinly estimates that a full renovation of Governor’s Square would cost $27 to 28 million.
However, Heinly expects the property to be in receivership for several years to come.
He also plans to hire new management. The current HUD-approved property manager, Landex Management, a subsidiary of Winn Residential, “freely admitted” to Heinly that they “had little motivation or direction to care for” Governor’s Square, Heinly said in a March report. Heinly added that residents reported a “serious distrust” of the company, so he hired his own temporary employees.
During the council meeting, a Governor’s Square tenant expressed satisfaction with Heinly’s team and their work.
“Justin, his crew, I love everybody,” she said. “I had a water leak in my kitchen for over a year and a half. Justin fixed it. I called one day, not even 24 hours later, it was fixed.”
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