Downtown Harrisburg apartment project to move forward following City Council approval

August 23, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

Rendering of the building planned for 512-514 N. 2nd St. (image courtesy Chris Dawson Architect)

A mixed-use building project planned for downtown Harrisburg has the go-ahead to proceed with construction.

At a legislative session on Tuesday night, Harrisburg City Council approved a land development plan for a five-story residential and retail structure at 512-514 N. 2nd St. The resolution passed with a vote of 6-0, with council member Dave Madsen recusing himself due to a conflict of interest.

Developer Derek Dilks plans to demolish the two dilapidated buildings that currently sit on the property and build a new 5,000-square-foot building with first-floor retail space and seven apartments above.

According to Dilks, his company will construct six one-bedroom units and a penthouse suite on the top floor. Rents are expected to range from $800 a month to $1,900 a month for the penthouse.

The current dilapidated buildings at 512-514 N. 2nd St.

The project received approval from the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board in 2021 for its contemporary design.

In other news, council approved the submission of a grant application to the Dauphin County Gaming Grant Program requesting $300,000. The grant would fund the rehabilitation of the atrium floor of the city’s MLK City Government Center and the first-floor public restrooms, as well as the purchase of three police vehicles.

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Harrisburg pizza shop shuts down; employees had filed to unionize

August 23, 2022 | by Lawrance Binda

The Knead Slice Shop at N. 3rd and Boas streets

A growing Harrisburg pizza business has decided to close permanently, just after a group of employees announced that they would seek to unionize.

On Tuesday, Knead Pizza announced on social media sites its decision to shut both its original location in the Broad Street Market and Knead Slice Shop at the corner of N. 3^rd and Boas streets.

In addition, Knead, which was founded in 2016, was in the process of opening a third location on Cameron Street in Harrisburg.

Reached by TheBurg, co-owner Jennie O’Neill declined further comment, but confirmed that the social media posts were accurate and that the business had ceased operations immediately.

Last Friday, a group of Knead workers announced an effort to unionize the company’s 11 employees, stating that they had filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board to join Unite Here Local 274, which is based in Philadelphia.

The announcement stated that a majority of Knead’s employees workers approved of the unionization effort and that a petition requesting voluntary recognition of the union had been delivered to the company’s owners.

“Knead workers are committed to win job projections, including life sustaining work schedules and health benefits,” according to a press statement.

In its social media post announcing its closure, Knead referenced the unionization effort:

“We respect the right of workers to organize under the National Labor Relations Act or other appropriate law,” said the Instagram post. “We hope our workers will recognize our related right as an employer, especially a small employer, during these extremely difficult operational times, to close our entire business operation. We continue to wish our employees well.”

In its post, Knead said it was “heartbroken” by the closure, but would remain closed “regardless of the outcome or the occurrence of the requested union election.”

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Developer outlines plan for expansive Midtown project, prepares for city approval process

August 22, 2022 | by Lawrance Binda

A rendering of the proposed “market extension” building near the Broad Street Market

About 200 new housing units are planned for Midtown, as a Harrisburg-based developer prepares to present its wide-ranging, multi-year building project to the city.

Over the weekend, Midtown Redevelopment LLC held the first of three public information sessions to share its plan, which includes apartments, townhouses, a grocery store and commercial spaces in dozens of long-empty lots in the unfinished Capitol Heights and MarketPlace neighborhoods.

The projects are slated to be on the agenda of the city’s Planning Commission and Zoning Hearing Board beginning next month, said Matt Long of Harrisburg Commercial Interiors, the project’s general contractor.

“We’re trying to reach out to anyone and everyone,” Long said. “We wanted to do these public meetings ahead of time.”

One of the lots in Midtown Harrisburg slated for redevelopment under the plan.

Halfway into the four-hour open house on Saturday, only a few people had trickled into Historic Harrisburg Resource Center to hear about the plans. Two more public sessions are scheduled—one for Aug. 27 and the second on Sept. 1 at the same location–before presentation to the city in September.

Midtown Redevelopment already has city approval for the first phase of its building project.

In early 2021, the company received the go-ahead for a 12-unit apartment building, with a community center, on the 1600-block of N. 3rd Street, as well as eight single-family townhouses on neighboring Logan Street. Long said that project will break ground next month.

Then, later in 2021, the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority (HRA) selected the company to complete the unfinished MarketPlace development located between the Broad Street Market and Reily Street. HRA also has given the company the right to develop additional lots in Capitol Heights, located on the other side of Reily Street.

According to Long, the project scope for Capitol Heights includes three smaller apartment buildings (four to six units each) with first-floor commercial space and four larger apartment buildings (12 to 16 units each).

A rendering of a small apartment building with commercial space in Capitol Heights

The scope for MarketPlace includes three larger apartment buildings, market-rate townhomes, affordable townhouses and a workforce housing building. The apartments will be a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, Long said.

Long added that affordable housing will constitute about 20% of the overall residential component, and the buildings will include off-street parking.

A rendering of new townhomes in the MarketPlace neighborhood

The proposal also includes plans for a grocery store and, near the Broad Street Market, a “market extension” building that will house several food vendors, be open seven days a week and include a rooftop deck.

The master plan also includes a senior living component, which will go through the planning and zoning processes separately, Long said.

The entire project may take seven or eight years to complete, he said.

“When you add it all up, it’ll be about 200 new units of housing,” Long said.

The Harrisburg Planning Commission next meets on Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in City Council chambers. The Harrisburg Zoning Hearing Board next meets on Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. in City Council chambers.

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Harrisburg to host parade for local RBI World Series-winning softball team

August 22, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

The Michael Stepp RBI of Greater Harrisburg softball team. Photo courtesy of Greater Harrisburg RBI.

This weekend, a home run event in Harrisburg will celebrate some local sports champions.

The city will host a parade on Aug. 27 to honor World Series champions, the Michael Stepp RBI of Greater Harrisburg softball team.

“We want everybody to come downtown and support these girls. These World Series champions from the Harrisburg area!” Mayor Wanda Williams said. “Every time they took the field, they wore H-B-G on their uniforms and represented our city with pride, and we couldn’t be more proud of them.”

The Harrisburg team won the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Softball World Series last weekend after defeating a team from Houston, Texas.

“We had a lot more energy than [Houston] knowing they had won three years in a row,” said Harrisburg shortstop Rachel Seneca. “We just wanted to end that. We didn’t want them to get a four-peat.”

Harrisburg’s RBI softball program is sponsored by Men of the South-East League Field (MOSELF), an initiative run by former city public works director Aaron Johnson, which supports the growth of baseball and softball in the capital region. The team received a new name last year in honor of Michael Stepp, a longtime local softball coach who died in 2020. The team’s tournament roster featured 15 girls from Dauphin, Cumberland and York counties.

For Saturday’s parade, players, coaches, staff and their families will make their way downtown, starting on the Market Street Bridge at 11 a.m. The parade will turn onto 2nd Street and go past City Hall, turn left on North Street, and left on Front Street. It will then turn back onto the Market Street Bridge and finish on City Island.

The parade will also feature Harrisburg Fire Bureau firetrucks and over a dozen antique cars.

The city will then host a celebratory picnic for the honorees and the public on City Island.

To learn more about the Michael Stepp RBI of Greater Harrisburg softball team, watch the city’s interview with the team on their YouTube channel.

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A Journey to Serve: Church offers backpacks, supplies, fun at back-to-school celebration

August 21, 2022 | by Susan Ryder

Karissa from Faded Precision gives a haircut to Bobby Thiaw.

Backpacks, not people, filled the chairs of The Journey Church’s worship space, ready to be distributed at Saturday’s “Back to School Block Party.”

During the pandemic, this 29th Street church held a community classroom, so parents could keep working while the schools were closed. This block party is a result of the relationships built during that time and a desire to continue to serve the community, said Pastor Kris Sledge.

“We know that there continues to be vulnerable students and vulnerable families… in light of inflation,” Sledge said. “So, how can we, in a very tangible way, respond and support our neighbors?”

This help came in the form of a free haircut, free clothing and a backpack full of school supplies to start the school year off right. In all, 375 backpacks were available.

“I’ve got kids, and I’m trying to keep them busy and get them some school supplies,” said Shakeela Rucker, as her three children tried to beat the sun as they devoured their cotton candy ice cream.

Free books lined the hallway toward the makeshift barber shop. Church member Maria James-Thiaw’s son, Bobby, hopped on the chair to get spiffed up for school. Thiaw reminded the barber, Karissa from Faded Precision Barbering, that her son really wanted to keep the purple peak that already topped his head.

“The block party gives an opportunity to meet our neighbors and helps a lot of us that need help with back to school,” said James-Thiaw.

The busy Rucker family attended the block party.

The Journey’s Jay’s Community Clothing Closet provided free clothing and shoes for all ages. The room overflowed with attire options for families. Folks took a bag and painstakingly made their choices, excited to find just the right thing.

“Take a coat, leave a hanger,” chimed volunteer Stephany Rudy.

About 60 volunteers made this event happen.

“This concept of serving our neighbors, I’m so passionate about it, and the Journey is, too,” said Jodie Gelnett, the church’s community development and engagement director.

Service represents a hallmark of The Journey, but the event isn’t transactional–it’s relational. We want to engage the community and “invite them into our space and get to know who they are,” said Brittney Ross Davis, director of children and justice ministries.

The stereotypical idea of church is that it’s stuffy and serious, a view that Sledge wants to change.

“A vision of The Journey for me has been when someone enters our space or when someone interacts with our church, they can experience a level of hope, if that’s what they need in their situation–but also just some fun,” Sledge said.

Backpacks await takers at the block party.

With people in and out of the building, sitting talking at tables, and socializing with each other and The Journey volunteers, as a DJ spun some tunes, it felt like community.

“We just continue the hope that we can be a hub in our neighborhood, for families, and for people, a hub of support, a hub of fun, a way in which that we can just build relationships and just connect and learn and grow because of these connections,” Sledge said.

This sunny, summer Saturday, doled out quintessential seasonal fun, before students need to crack the books.

The Journey Church is located at 750 S. 29th St., Harrisburg. To learn more, visit https://thejourneyharrisburg.org.

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Amid well-wishers, Shamaine Daniels launches fall congressional campaign, opens Harrisburg office

August 20, 2022 | by Lawrance Binda

Supporters of Shamaine Daniels left Saturday’s campaign kick-off with lawn signs.

An overflow crowd of supporters spilled out of a Midtown Harrisburg building and onto the sidewalk on Saturday, as Shamaine Daniels launched her general election campaign for Congress.

More than 100 people took time from their weekend to help inaugurate the campaign office at Verbeke and Penn streets, many leaving the building with campaign signs for their lawns and windows.

“I am here to meet Shamaine and to get the best candidate in Congress that we can possibly get,” said Sarah Pearce of Susquehanna Township.

In remarks to attendees, Daniels, the Democratic nominee, said that she’d work hard to represent the people of the 10th congressional district, a seat now held by Republican incumbent Scott Perry.

Afterwards, Daniels, an attorney and three-term Harrisburg council member, said that she wasn’t surprised by the large turnout of supporters.

“I kind of expected it, because people are really excited about this campaign,” she said.

Shamaine Daniels, far left, speaks with a supporter, as people stand in line (right) to sign up to help with the campaign.

The district, which includes all of Dauphin and parts of Cumberland and York counties, leans Republican in voter registration. Still, Daniels said that she believes that her stances on issues resonate well with the majority of voters, whether they’re urban, suburban or rural.

These positions, she said, include better roads, agricultural workforce stability and women’s health, especially in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturn of Roe vs. Wade, which removed a national right to abortion.

“The three things we’re focusing on are infrastructure, families and children and a broken immigration system,” Daniels said. “All of those affect large swaths of the district.”

Many attendees seemed to be equally focused on ousting Perry from office.

“I think Shamaine’s a great person,” said Susan of Harrisburg, who declined to provide her last name. “I think she has a lot of great ideas, and we need to get Scott Perry out of there.”

A bicyclist leaves the event with lawn signs.

Ellen Barry of Susquehanna Township said that she “was mortified” when the township became part of the 10th district following redistricting, which meant that Perry became her congressman.

“I don’t know Shamaine Daniels, but she seems qualified to beat him,” said Barry.

Pearce described Perry as “an embarrassment.”

“He is done, as far as I’m concerned, and [Daniels] has the best ideas,” Pearce said. “I want her to win.”

Daniels said that she hopes to win the Nov. 8 general election by boosting turnout of both voters who support her stances and who object to Perry’s conservative positions and his strong support for former President Donald Trump.

“We need to concentrate on voter turnout,” Daniels said. “If we get out the Democrats and independents and the Republicans who believe in our democracy, we’ll be in good shape. I think we’ll be able to win.”

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The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

August 19, 2022 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Gittens

Community members and artists painted and hung a mural on Pastorante’s boarded-up window in Midtown Harrisburg.

As fall inches closer, there are several great ways to enjoy the last bit of summer in Harrisburg this weekend. HU Presents is set up for two concerts this weekend in Riverfront Park, Dauphin County’s Cultural Fest will take place on City Island and 3^rd in the Burg is happening tonight! Before you head out, catch up on this week’s news, linked below.

Bethesda Mission celebrated the opening of its new women’s mission on Thursday, our online story reported. The newly constructed building offers a place for Harrisburg women in crisis to find refuge and support.

The Broad Street Market is featured in a new Apple TV series, “Stuffed with Steve Ford,” our online story reported. The show, created by the Pennsylvania Tourism Office, will premiere at the market on Friday night, in the courtyard.

Dauphin County’s Cultural Fest will return to City Island in Harrisburg this weekend, our reporting found. The event will include musical and dance performances, as well as ethnic food trucks and other vendors.

The Dauphin-Middle Paxton Historical Society is working to rebuild after a fire destroyed its building and much of its historical artifacts. In our magazine story, read about what’s next for the organization and about its gala planned for next month.

Our editor, in an editorial, shares how despite PennDOT’s new efforts to deter trucks from driving under the Front Street railroad bridge, many trucks are still getting stuck. PennDOT isn’t doing enough to address the issue, he says.

Gamut Theatre honored a former student actor who passed away in 2020 by naming a legacy fund in her honor, our online story reported. “Lily’s Legacy Fund” will support the Harrisburg theater’s efforts to increase its accessibility.

Harrisburg City Council re-opened the application for its Youth Commission, our online story reported. The commission will now include 11- to 18-year old students who will help advise the city on youth-related issues.

Harrisburg’s Keystone Capital Chorus and York’s White Rose Chorus will come together for a “Back to Barbershop! 75^th Anniversary Celebration” at the Scottish Rite Cathedral next month, our online story reported. The performance represents more than just an anniversary, but a newfound unity and a coming together to preserve the musical genre.

Harrisburg and state Rep. Patty Kim will hand out free backpacks and school supplies to 100 students at the city’s final summer movie night on Friday, our online story reported. At 8 p.m., the city will show “Space Jam: A New Legacy.”

Junior Achievement’s BizTown provides a field trip experience to a simulated town where students test-drive a real workday. In our magazine story, read more about the York organization that prepares students for work readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

Pastorante, a restaurant in Harrisburg, is looking a little brighter after community members and artists hung and painted a mural on the front of the building, our reporting found. The mural covers a window that was boarded up after a shooting incident shattered the window last week.

Sara Bozich’s Weekend Roundup is full of music, food and entertainment options for your weekend. Take a look, here.

Sprocket Mural Works recently completed another mural in Harrisburg, capping off the renovation of the “Carpets & Draperies” building at 1507 N. 3^rd St., our online story reported. The bright and colorful mural was painted by local artist Tara Chickey.

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Harrisburg’s Gamut Theatre honors student actor, increases building accessibility

August 19, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

Gamut Theatre staff and actors, Lily Jordan’s family and others cut the ribbon on both the “Lily’s Lift” elevator and “Lily’s Legacy Fund.”

A Harrisburg theater is taking steps to become even more accessible for visitors and performers.

During a bittersweet celebration on Friday, Gamut Theatre honored a young actress who passed away in 2020 as it announced a legacy fund in her name to improve the accessibility of the theater.

“We are so excited about this fund launching,” said Carolina Nicholson, Gamut’s public relations manager. “Any amount is so helpful for us. Every little bit helps us to help others be able to access our property.”

“Lily’s Legacy Fund” is named after Lily Jordan, a local teenager who performed at Gamut Theatre, before passing away from cancer. Jordan, who used a wheelchair, often rode in the theater’s elevator to get from the stage to the dressing room and rehearsal room space. On Friday, Gamut named the elevator “Lily’s Lift.”

While Gamut is fully accessible by wheelchair, the organization wanted to make its building and programming even easier to access.

Nicholson said that she hopes that the new fund will support scholarships for students to attend their Popcorn Hat Players’ Camp and Gamut Theatre Academy. Funds may also support building updates, reduced ticket prices for lower-income residents and additional support staff.

“It’s created in the memory of Lily […] and how she always strove for excellence and never allowed her disability to get in the way of achieving her hopes and dreams,” said Gamut student actor Kennedy Commissiong, who was a friend of Jordan’s. “Lily’s Legacy helps Gamut to give back to the community in a meaningful way.”

For more information on Gamut Theatre’s Lily’s Legacy Fund or to donate, visit their website.

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Community Comment: Loneliness Can Threaten Lives

August 19, 2022 | by Capital Blue Cross

Senior man sitting on bench in garden.

It’s not as if loneliness had never been on health researchers’ radar before COVID-19.

A 2018 Kaiser Family Foundation report found that nearly 60 million Americans – or 22% – often or always felt lonely or isolated. The problem is particularly poignant in adults over 60, 43% of whom reported feeling lonely.

And in 2019, just prior to the pandemic’s outbreak in America, the Health Resources & Services Administration cited a staggering warning that social isolation can cause as much harm as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Loneliness spiked to crisis status during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from Harvard University’s Making Caring Common Project, which found more than a third of all Americans – 36% – feel “serious loneliness.” That includes 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with younger children.

“Emotional and physical Isolation were already underreported problems prior to the pandemic,” says Karie Batzler, Capital Blue Cross director of behavioral health. “But the pandemic escalated them to an epidemic that carries long-term consequences that could potentially damage, or even cost, countless lives. It’s imperative, collectively as communities, that we work together to lessen loneliness, especially for those most susceptible to it, such as seniors and young adults.”

The issue has health implications that go beyond mental wellness. Several analyses have reported that loneliness carries a higher mortality risk than obesity.

Lessening the Loneliness

The good news is we can all help fight our feelings of isolation by:

Creating group activities – at work, with family, or with friends – that that help build a bigger sense of community.
Educating ourselves and those close to us on how to cope with isolation. The Harvard report suggests “including strategies that help them identify and manage self-defeating thoughts and behaviors that fuel loneliness.”
Extending the commitments we have to ourselves to the well-being of our family, friends, and co-workers, particularly those we sense may be vulnerable.

Capital Blue Cross helps through a variety of behavioral health initiatives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the health insurer unveiled a behavioral health toolkit for employer groups, and helped bring to market a new mobile app that helps users improve their mental wellness.

“We can help by understanding that what lonely friends, family, or coworkers need more than anything is to connect and reach out to others, and for others to reach out to them,” Batzler said. “But sometimes the shame that accompanies loneliness pushes them in the other direction, and that can spiral downward quickly. Regularly scheduled things like group activities, providing information about how to cope with loneliness, and guidance toward available programs or tools to handle it are critical.”

THINK (Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the latest health and insurance issues.

Bethesda Mission celebrates completion of new women’s shelter, expanding services for Harrisburg’s unhoused

August 19, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

Bethesda Mission staff and board members, Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams, City Council President Danielle Bowers, and project contractors cut the ribbon on the new women’s mission.

A seven-year-long project has reached completion and will provide a new home to Harrisburg’s women in need.

On Thursday evening, Bethesda Mission celebrated the completion of its new women’s mission building, which houses women experiencing homelessness, addiction and abuse, among other struggles.

“I am so excited,” said Shelley Brooks, director of the women’s mission. “When someone comes into our shelter, they can find the love and support that they need.”

In June 2020, Bethesda began demolition of the previous women’s shelter, a pair of 120-year-old former school buildings that the organization had occupied for 37 years. The buildings increasingly faced maintenance issues and deteriorated over the years. On demolition day, Brooks ceremonially took a sledgehammer to one of the buildings. They had served the mission for years, but she was ready to see them go.

The staff and guests of the mission moved into the new building in November 2021, according to Scott Dunwoody, executive director of Bethesda Mission.

“Isn’t the new building beautiful?” Brooks asked visitors at the celebration for the new, 18,400-square-foot building.

Bethesda’s Women’s Mission

Throughout the night, staff and volunteers provided tours of the four-story building, a project that cost about $4.5 million. Bethesda Mission raised the funds through donations and grants, but is still about $50,000 short of its goal.

The first floor of the building serves as a living space for shorter-term residents who may stay from six months to a year. The second floor houses women in recovery from addiction who will stay for a longer term of one to two years. On the third floor, the mission runs a new young adults program for 18- to 24-year-olds in need of a place to stay. The basement level includes a kitchen, chapel, fitness room and playroom for children who live in the shelter with their mothers.

In total, the shelter has space for 51 women and children. Currently, only about 20 women live in the new shelter, as Bethesda only recently reopened the program to new guests.

A living room space inside Bethesda Women’s Mission

According to Dunwoody, the long-term commitment aspect of the shelter is Bethesda’s “distinctive difference.” It gives the staff time to help guests address the root of their problems, he explained. They do that through recovery, life skills, mental health and religious programming, among others.

“They need love, direction and support,” Brooks said.

Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams attended the celebration, reading a mayoral proclamation and helping staff and donors cut the ribbon on the new facility.

“I hate the idea that they [women] have to come, but I love the place they get to come to,” Brooks said.

For more information about Bethesda Mission’s Women’s Mission, visit their website.

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