Tag Archives: demolition

William Penn demolition officially canceled, task force weighs future use of building

January 9, 2024 | by Maddie Gittens

William Penn

Harrisburg’s William Penn building is no longer slated for demolition.

At Tuesday’s Harrisburg School Board meeting, Receiver Dr. Lori Suski officially reversed her previous decision to raze the vacant, blighted school building.

In June, she approved a contract with the Gordian Group to tear down the building, at a cost of $6.8 million. However, since then, community members voiced opposition to the decision, causing Suski to halt the demo and form a task force to discuss alternative options.

The task force has met a handful of times, starting in October, with a final meeting scheduled for Jan. 18. At a previous meeting, task force members voted on a motion to recommend to Suski that the building be saved.

Tuesday’s board meeting solidified that plan, with Suski instead approving the Gordian Group to clean out debris and remove asbestos from the building. The agreement also incorporates constructing a fence along the front façade to protect the public from falling debris.

A fire, determined by the city’s fire bureau to be caused by arson, damaged William Penn in December. As part of the proposal, the Gordian Group will also clean out and secure the fire-damaged area.

Also discussed on Tuesday was a recommendation to the receiver to ratify an agreement with St. Moritz Security Services to provide 24/7 security at William Penn. The district started utilizing the company on Jan. 1, at a cost of $1,200 per day. While the receiver still needs to formally approve the agreement, the security service has already taken effect.

The district has also recently boarded up many areas of the building, and new security cameras have been installed.

With Suski saving the building from demolition, task force members will continue to come up with a recommendation for future use of the property.

For several weeks, community groups, businesses and nonprofit organizations have pitched their proposals to the 25-member task force for consideration. Those presentations included ideas like creating a career and technology school, indoor sports complex, a medical facility and affordable housing for seniors, among others.

At the task force’s previous meeting, members voted on various concepts for the building to focus in on a recommendation for its use. Receiving the most votes from members was a proposal from the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire to create an emergency services and public education facility. According to Fire Chief Brian Enterline, the facility would include an emergency services station, as well as classrooms and programming for students interested in career pathways within the fire and police bureaus, as well as with LifeTeam EMS and 9-1-1 Dispatch.

Members also favored proposals including creating a career and technology school and recreational and sports facilities.

The task force will eventually make a recommendation to Suski for the use of the property. However, she will ultimately have the final say on the project.

For more information on the William Penn Task Force, visit the district’s website.

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Harrisburg School District appoints task force to help plan future of William Penn

September 28, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

William Penn

The Harrisburg School District is employing the help of the community to come up with a plan for its historic William Penn School building.

At a school board meeting on Tuesday, Receiver Dr. Lori Suski appointed a task force of residents and city and county officials to discuss what to do with the long-vacant and blighted school building at risk of demolition.

In June, Suski approved the demolition of William Penn, citing the financial burden it has become. However, in late August, Suski announced that she would halt demo plans, give the community another chance to share input on the future of the building and consider alternative proposals.

“We clearly heard that there is a sentiment out there that before we move to demolish a building, that we look at other options. This is our due diligence, good-faith effort,” she said on Tuesday.

The newly appointed task force includes two paid facilitators, Sheila Dow Ford, executive director of nonprofit Impact Harrisburg, and Elan Drennon, an attorney based near Philadelphia, Suski explained.

There will be 27 members of the task force including Danielle Bowers, City Council president, Gloria Merrick, director of Harrisburg’s Latino Hispanic American Community Center (LHACC), David Morrison, director of the Historic Harrisburg Association and Dauphin County Commissioner Mike Pries, among many other officials and residents. Two Harrisburg High School students, one from the John Harris campus and one from the SciTech campus, will be included, as well as two school board members.

Additionally, five district officials, including Suski, will serve as ex officio members.

According to Suski, the group will discuss various options for the future of William Penn. At a previous press conference, she said that plans could possibly include only preserving the façade of the building, keeping the building and eventually using it for a vo-tech school or job training facility or proceeding with a full demo, among other options.

The task force will meet on Thursday nights from 6 to 8 p.m., twice in October, November and December. Dates have yet to be announced. Meetings will be open to the public, but will not include a public comment period.

Suski expects that the task force will have a final recommendation to present to the district at their first board meeting in January.

For more information, visit the Harrisburg School District’s website.

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William Penn demolition halted, Harrisburg School District to weigh other options

August 30, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

William Penn High School

Demolition plans for the William Penn school building in Harrisburg will come to a halt for now.

Harrisburg School District Receiver Dr. Lori Suski announced at a press conference on Wednesday that she would reconsider alternatives to demolishing the long-vacant high school building.

In late June, Suski approved a $6.8 million proposal from the Gordian Group to demolish the building, built in 1926. At the board meeting, she explained that the building was increasingly being vandalized and causing financial strain on the district. The district also was having trouble obtaining property insurance for the building.

However, in front of William Penn, located next to Italian Lake Park, Suski told members of the press that she was “not personally comfortable with moving forward” with demolition at this time.

“I really took a step back and asked myself, ‘Is this the right decision for the Harrisburg community and the Harrisburg School District?’” Suski said. “As a result of that, I wanted to put a pause on the situation.”

Suski said that, in recent weeks, many community members have met with her and shared their opinions and desires to preserve the building. She has taken that input into consideration and wants to grant the community additional time to weigh in, she explained.

“I feel that it’s important to weigh the thoughts of the community, to weigh the thoughts of different experts, and I believe that there is a lot of information that the administration has yet to bring forward,” she said.

At the district’s Aug. 22 board meeting, Suski charged Superintendent Eric Turman, along with other district officials, with bringing forth a full proposal for the future of the property, including how a portion of it may be preserved and what the district would do with the large, empty 27.75 acres of land, should the building be demolished.

At that meeting, slated for Sept. 12, Suski said that community members will have a chance to ask questions about the proposal and share feedback, which could influence a change in plans.

Receiver Dr. Lori Suski speaks to the press in front of William Penn.

“There was no opportunity given to the public to share their ideas, their thoughts, their opinions about this monumental decision to destroy this majestic facility,” she said. “I believe that opportunity needs to be provided.”

In the meantime, the district will not move forward yet with executing the contract to demolish and, instead, explore all possible options for the future of William Penn.

That future could include selling the building, keeping it and securing it, or possibly partnering with an organization to open a vo-tech school or job training facility, Suski explained.

Demolition is still on the table, Suski shared, but before making a decision, she would like to hear a more robust plan on how the façade of the building may be preserved as well as the artifacts inside the building, should she decide to demo.

“In the end, I’m the only one right now who would be able to make that decision, and I can tell you right now that my gut is telling me to take a step back and really re-evaluate and reconsider all options before going in that direction,” she said.

Suski also stated that she gets the sense that many of the school board members do not support the halt to the demolition. At the June board meeting, several board directors expressed their support for demolition, despite their regret that the building had fallen into such disrepair.

However, Suski holds the sole vote while the district is under state receivership. School board directors hold no voting power, besides a vote on the district’s property tax levy.

Reached by phone, school board member Jim Thompson said that he thinks the board’s opinions on demolition are mixed.

While Thompson doesn’t see the need for more classroom space for the district at this time, he said that the building could be useful in the future. However, he’s also open to the idea of shuttering and securing it or demolishing it. Overall, he is willing to hear alternatives for William Penn, but a non-negotiable for him is keeping the land.

“Tear it down, keep it, adaptively reuse it, just don’t sell the land,” he said.

Suski estimates that it may take two or three months for the district to weigh alternatives. She hopes that the district will be able to obtain property insurance to buy them some additional time, as well.

“After you demo a building, you can’t go back,” she said.

The Sept. 12 board meeting will take place at 6 p.m. in the Lincoln Administration Building, 1601 State St., Harrisburg. For more information about the Harrisburg School District, visit their website.

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Harrisburg School District to demolish long-vacant William Penn building, approves 2023-24 budget

June 27, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg School Board meeting on Tuesday

The Harrisburg School District on Tuesday took action on two significant agenda items—the district’s budget and the future of one of its most storied buildings.

District Receiver Dr. Lori Suski approved the demolition of the long-vacant and blighted William Penn School building, citing the financial burden that it has caused the district.

“We have gone through extensive dialogue about this property,” Suski said. “The building was improperly shuttered years ago, and I agree with the residents that it’s a travesty. But we need to look at how best to use our resources. It doesn’t really appear that there is any other direction to go than to proceed with the demolition.”

Suski approved a $6.8 million proposal from the Gordian Group to demolish the building, built in 1926.

According to district officials at a previous board meeting, William Penn has increasingly suffered structural damage, fires and break-ins. Over the years, the school district weighed options such as selling the building and renovating it for use as a magnet middle school. However, Suski explained that the district wasn’t interested in any sales offers it got and received quotes estimating renovations could be as high as $90 million.

Several William Penn graduates and community members attended Tuesday’s meeting to express frustration with the plan to demolish the building.

“I’m upset that they allowed the building to deteriorate,” said Elle Richard, of the William Penn class of 1966. “It shouldn’t have gone this far. It’s sad because it seemed so much like home.”

David Morrison, executive director of the Historic Harrisburg Association, said that while he wished the building could have been adaptively reused, “that moment, sadly, appears to be long gone,” he said.

“To lose that majestic façade that looms over Italian Lake will indeed be an enduring loss,” he added. “But we know that you can’t save everything.”

Some school board members expressed support for the decision to demolish the building, agreeing with district officials that maintaining the building had become too costly.

“It does hurt that this decision had to be made,” said school board director Danielle Robinson. “We’ve done everything to try to figure out how to save this building but realistically it just can’t be done.”

The school district will likely begin demolition in August or September, which would take around a year to complete, said John Reedy, chief of operations for the district.

According to Superintendent Eric Turman, the district plans to host community meetings in the fall to hear input from residents on how they’d like to see the property used after William Penn is demolished.

Also on Tuesday, Suski approved the final 2023-24 budget of $218.5 million, which does not include a property tax increase.

Taxes will remain at a millage rate of 30.78.

In an earlier form of the preliminary budget, the district proposed raising taxes by 3.25%, however, officials removed the tax hike from the proposal at a previous meeting.

The 2023-24 budget is lower than the 2022-23 budget of $223.8 million, due to the end of some of the district’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) money, COVID relief funding, officials stated.

In other news, Suski also approved the termination of a license agreement of the district’s Joshua Farm with Harrisburg-based Wildheart Ministries, effective June 30. According to Suski, since the district began the partnership with the nonprofit about a month ago, the district has had concerns with the way the organization has used the property, located at 213 S. 18^th St.

Suski said that district officials will create a new plan later this summer for the use of the property.

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Harrisburg School District removes tax hike from proposed budget, weighs demolition of William Penn

June 13, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg School Board Meeting on Tuesday

Harrisburg property owners may be safe from a tax hike for the upcoming school year.

Harrisburg School District officials shared, at a board meeting on Tuesday, that the updated proposed 2023-24 budget no longer includes a property tax hike.

At a May meeting, district officials stated that the proposed budget at the time would include a 3.25% tax raise. The district planned to use the about $1.4 million raised through the proposed tax raise to support the future of the district’s long-vacant, blighted William Penn school building, explained Dr. Marcia Stokes, chief financial officer for the district, at the May meeting.

However, the proposal has changed as the district shared that it is weighing the possibility of demolishing William Penn.

The district said that it now is considering a $6.9 million contract with Gordian Group to demolish the school building, built in 1926, which has long been vacant. Over the past years, the district has discussed several ideas for the building, including selling it and, more recently, renovating and using it as a magnet school for middle school students.

However, Receiver Dr. Lori Suski said that the district wasn’t interested in any of the sales offers and so took it off the market. Additionally, the cost of renovating the building for district use could cost over $90 million, Stokes said.

“This decision is unfortunate,” said John Reedy, chief of operations for the district. “Due to its condition, we believe this is the best decision.”

According to Reedy, the building has put increasing financial strain on the district as it has suffered from structural damage, fires, break-ins and asbestos. The district has also struggled to find an insurance carrier to cover the building because of its dilapidated state.

Ultimately, the district doesn’t have the funds to renovate the building and doesn’t need the additional building space right now, Reedy said.

If the proposal is approved by Suski, the school district would likely begin demolition in August or September, which would take around a year to complete, Reedy said.

Several school board directors voiced support for the proposal to demolish the building.

“It seems right now we are at the end,” said board director Danielle Robinson. “The building does need to be demolished, as much as it hurts to say.”

Reedy said that the district would still own the land for possible future use.

Suski still needs to rule on the proposal to demolish William Penn.

Also on Tuesday, Suski voted to terminate a contract with LivingWell Institute, which worked to bring professionals from the community into district schools to provide educational experiences to students. District officials said they are considering allocating a portion of the money that would’ve gone to LivingWell to support the addition of two new school resource officer positions to the proposed budget.

“Our goal is to have police serving as mentors, role models and a presence in the school that’ll help kids to feel safer,” Suski said.

The district is slated to vote on the final 2023-24 budget on June 27.

For more information, visit the Harrisburg School District’s website.

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Bethesda Women’s Shelter faces renewal project, construction begins

June 15, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

Director Shelley Brooks (far right) and other staff at Bethesda Women’s Mission take sledgehammers to the old building.

Not too long ago, a car hit the main Bethesda Women’s Shelter building on Forster Street.

Director Shelley Brooks ran out to check the damage. Not even one brick had come loose, but to her, that was bad luck.

“I always tell everyone who visits, when they leave to take a brick with them,” she said.

Brooks finally saw her dream for renovation come true as demolition began today for the shelter renewal project.

Bethesda Women’s Mission has occupied the 120-year-old former pair of school buildings for 37 years. Brooks has worked there for 35 of them.

The 120-year-old buildings sit on the 1900-block of Forster Street.

“The buildings served us well for many years, but over the last decade, we saw deterioration,” Executive Director Scott Dunwoody said.

The shelter offers long-term and transitional living for women in crisis to seek restoration and personal growth. Many of these women have faced abuse and addiction. The buildings house 25 beds for women and their children.

Brooks explained the growing need in the Harrisburg area for young women’s support as a motivating factor in the expansion.

“It’s time to spread out a little because the need is great,” she said.

The transitional living building will be demolished and rebuilt first, followed by the main building. Once completed, the half-acre site will hold a new four-story building with 51 beds, the new transitional living building and outdoor garden and park space.

“The shelter has given women who have been in crisis a whole new opportunity for a different life,” Dunwoody said.

Within the past two years, Bethesda has raised over 85% of the $4.2 million price tag on the project through grants and private donors. They are now looking for community donations to meet their goal.

The project, taken on by Pyramid Construction, is expected to be completed by the fall of 2021.

With excitement, Brooks and other staff members took sledgehammers to one of the old brick buildings this morning.

“I feel very privileged to be where I am,” Brooks said. “This has been very much a home, and I will miss that. But I won’t miss calling the maintenance person a lot.”

Bethesda Women’s Mission is located at 1933 Forster St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit https://www.bethesdamission.org/take-action/womens-mission-renewal/.

July News Digest

July 31, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda and Lizzy Hardison

Report: Tax Hike Possible

Real estate taxes in Harrisburg could increase by 105 percent over the next three years, if suggestions in a financial recovery plan submitted to city officials come to pass.

The state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) last month released Harrisburg’s Act 47 exit plan, a report intended to guide the city through the next three years in the state financial oversight program.

The plan, which was prepared by Harrisburg’s Act 47 coordinator Marita Kelley, calls for Harrisburg to restructure its revenue sources to align with tax rates set forth in the state code.

Act 47 has granted Harrisburg extraordinary taxing power that generates $11 million in revenue each year. The city doubled its earned income tax (EIT) rate in 2012 and tripled its local services tax (LST) in 2016.

Unless state laws change, Harrisburg would lose that revenue when it exits Act 47 in 2022.

To avoid a fiscal cliff, Kelley suggested that the city gradually surrender its extraordinary taxing authority and replace its EIT and LST revenue with real estate tax revenue over the next three years.

The exit plan calls for a complete reversal of the LST and EIT hikes by 2021. Simultaneously, Harrisburg would levy 20-percent real estate tax hikes for two consecutive years, followed by a 42 percent raise in 2021.

Harrisburg property owners pay taxes to three separate taxing jurisdictions: the city, the school district and Dauphin County. The hikes would only affect the city property tax.

Meanwhile, under the plan, bills for the city’s EIT and LST would decrease. Kelley recommends reducing the EIT by .5 percent in 2019 and 2020, offsetting the 1 percent hike that City Council levied in 2015. The plan also calls for the city to reduce its LST by $52 for the next two years, bringing it down to a $52 annual, flat rate by 2022.

The astronomical real estate tax hikes still wouldn’t bring in as much revenue as the current LST and EIT rates. Budget projections in the exit plan call on the city to spend more than $13 million from its fund balance to mitigate annual deficits.

The plan makes clear that Harrisburg can’t afford any new expenditures. Kelley outlined initiatives the city could make to curb spending, such as paying down debt obligations, renegotiating existing loans, adopting financial management policies to improve the city’s credit rating, and developing a five-year capital improvement plan to prioritize its infrastructure improvement projects.

Harrisburg does have two paths to avoid the real estate tax hikes. It could adopt a Home Rule charter, which would allow it to write its own tax code, though Mayor Eric Papenfuse last month seemed to reject that path.

The city also can ask the legislature to let it levy its current LST and EIT tax rates in perpetuity. City officials have been lobbying lawmakers for months in hopes of securing legislative change.

If the legislature does pass special tax provisions for Harrisburg when it reconvenes in September, the city could exit Act 47 and maintain its current taxing authority.

If the state fails to act, the city would enter its 2019 budget cycle under the assumptions set forth in DCED’s recovery plan.

Papenfuse denounced the report’s findings, calling them “state-assisted suicide.” Local officials vowed to fight any move to significantly raise Harrisburg’s property tax.

For its part, DCED later clarified that it sees real estate hikes as a last resort.

“The recovery coordinator believes the significant property tax proposed in the Act 47 Exit Plan should be considered as a last option,” according to a statement from the department. “As stated in the Exit Plan, the city should first explore reducing costs and renegotiating deals, entering into a home rule charter and negotiating with the state legislature to extend the deadline for collecting the LST and EIT.”

Council Passes Sanitation, Funding Measures

Harrisburg City Council passed new sanitation laws and disbursed more than $2 million in federal grant funds last month before adjourning for summer recess.

Over the course of a four-hour meeting, council made sweeping changes to laws governing trash and recycling collection violations in the city. The city’s new sanitation code establishes harsher fines and new enforcement powers.

Despite the lobbying of the city treasurer, council members rejected a provision that would have inaugurated annual trash billing. The city will continue to send homeowners and businesses monthly bills for trash services.

Under the new ordinance, owners of vacant properties will no longer be billed for trash services at those parcels. Council added an amendment requiring all vacant property owners to apply for a vacant property exemption.

The hallmark of the new sanitation code is a new fine and enforcement structure, aimed at curbing illegal trash disposal across the city.

Under the new ordinance, serious offenses—including illegal dumping, accumulation of trash exceeding 1,000 pounds, improper waste disposal and failure to register as a private trash hauler—are considered category 1 violations, punishable by a $1,000 fine or up to 90 days in jail.

Category 2 violations include failure to bag waste, obstruction of streets and sidewalks or interference with enforcement and will be met with fines starting at $100. Fines will increase up to $500 for each subsequent offense.

The ordinance also permits Public Works to designate enforcement officers to patrol public streets for violations, and it authorizes police officers to issue citations and enforce the ordinance.

Council last month also voted to disburse $2 million in funds from the Community Development Block Grant. More than a dozen local nonprofits and city departments will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $300,000. These include:

Christian Recovery Aftercare Ministries (C.R.A.M.): $40,000
TLC Work Based Training: $45,000
A Miracle 4 Sure: $50,000
Latino Hispanic Community Center: $25,000
Fair Housing Council: $25,000
PPL/IN HOUSE: $20,000
Shades of Greatness: $15,000
Heinz-Menaker Senior Center: $25,000
Neighborhood Dispute Settlement: $5,000
TriCounty HDC: $250,000
Habitat for Humanity: $100,000
Housing Rehabilitation Programs (city-run): $321,642

In addition, more than $600,000 of the $2 million grant will go to debt service, and $400,000 will reimburse the city for CDBG administration.

Council also approved a new, five-year labor contract with the city’s firefighters, which will lock in 2-percent annual wage increases and establish a new policy to increase retention. Lastly, council passed a resolution reestablishing Harrisburg’s Environmental Advocacy Council, a seven-member body that will be filled by appointments by council and the mayor’s office.

City OKs 2 Buildings for Demo

Another slice of historic Harrisburg seems fated for the wrecking ball, as a long-time property owner has received permission to raze two small downtown buildings.

By a 4-1 count, the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board (HARB) last month voted to allow retired area attorney Gilbert Petrina to demolish 512 and 514 N. 2nd St., buildings that he has owned for at least 35 years.

Petrina’s son, Gilbert Petrina Jr., attended the meeting, saying that his father was too ill to attend.

“My goal is to get these down as quickly as possible,” the younger Petrina said. “They’re a blight. They’re a hazard.”

Several board members pointed out that the properties were blighted only because they had been neglected for so long by the owner.

“I’m disappointed the properties have reached this point,” said member Jeremiah Chamberlin. “Ten years ago, they would have been restorable.”

Petrina said that, someday, he’d like to build a new structure on the site. Until then, he proposed using the lots for parking, hoping that revenue would help offset the cost of the demolition.

However, Assistant City Solicitor Tiffanie Baldock said the city could not allow additional commercial parking because doing so would violate its agreement with Park Harrisburg/SP+, which runs the parking system under a long-term lease with the city.

Petrina, who lives in Virginia, said he still would proceed with the demolition and reiterated that, someday, he hoped to build on the site, though he currently lacked a plan to do so.

So Noted

Mark Kropilak was named last month as the new chief executive officer of Capital Region Water, which provides water and sewer service to much of the Harrisburg area. Kropilak, who has worked both for private water technology companies and in a regulated utility, replaces Shannon Gority, who resigned the post late last year.

Patricia Whitehead-Myers was appointed to the Harrisburg school board last month. Myers, who served previously on the board, replaced Percel Eiland, who resigned his two-year board seat. In other school district news, Director Tyrell Spradley resigned his seat after just five months on the board.

Penn State Health has announced that it plans to build a new, 108-bed, acute-care hospital on 44 acres in the Wentworth Corporate Center in Hampden Township. Construction of the 300,000-square-foot, three-story building is slated to begin in early 2019, according to Penn State Health. It will be located directly across I-81 from UPMC Pinnacle’s West Shore Hospital.

Rob Lesher resigned last month after more than two years as the executive director of the Dauphin County Library System. Karen Cullings, the library’s director of community relations, will assume the position of interim executive director while a national search is conducted to find a replacement, according to DCLS.

TLC Work-Based Training last month held a groundbreaking for a 20-unit affordable apartment complex, the Harrisburg Uptown Building (HUB) and the HUB Veteran Housing Complex. The project at 5th and Kelker streets is TLC’s first major undertaking as a property developer.

Changing Hands

Adrian St., 2425: M. Washington & J. Holmes to S. & V. Heckman, $61,000

Adrian St., 2436: PA Deals LLC to R. Buehner, $63,900

Allison Ct., 7: Flipside Home Renewal LLC to D. Wallace, $92,500

Berryhill St., 1143: FEI Company to Vich Development LLC, $1,250,000

Boas St., 235: Weichert Workforce Mobility Inc. to D. Kergick & A. McHugh, $177,000

Carlisle St., 308 & 318: R. Jackson to Pop’s House Inc., $285,000

Chestnut St., 1621: R. & L. Ravenel to B. & L. Young, $30,000

Delaware St., 263: M. Dupree to Wells Fargo Bank NA, $76,747

Derry St., 1152: J. Vogelsong to M. Pena & T. Edison, $40,000

Derry St., 2712: D. Diehl to A. Lorenzo, $102,000

Emerald Ct., 2447: Z. Akbar to S. Waheed to D. Ritter, $83,000

Emerald St., 311: J. Yeatter to H. Santiago Andino, $73,500

Grand St., 912: Summerhill Partners LP to D. & M. MacIntyre, $65,000

Green St., 1003: E. & J. Ireland to M. & C. Kwolek, $96,500

Green St., 1632: C. Frater & R. Valentine to F. & C. DiPeri, $130,000

Green St., 3216: P. Wong to M. Zeeshan & S. Patel, $67,000

Harris St., 416: T. Woodyard to M. Riegel, $104,500

Herr St., 112: C. Chandler to K. Kundratic, $118,500

Hillside Rd., 301: J. Harget to R. & L. Wood, $199,500

Hoffman St., 3114: W. & D. Kersey to R. Pereira Chakka, $95,000

Kensington St., 2101: HT Properties LLC to R. Ramos, $68,000

Kensington St., 2138: 2014 LIMG Real Estate Fund LLC to T. Pitts, $64,000

Logan St., 1719: C. Leman to D. Hemperly, $126,500

Maclay St., 248: D. Bowermaster to S. Melville, $53,500

Manada St., 1914: W. Fischer to T. Pitts, $55,000

Mercer St., 2442: P. & B. Huepenbecker to Lynn & Ryan Investment Properties LLC, $34,000

North St., 262: TJC East Properties LLC to Spuntina LLC, $235,000

N. Front St., 325 & 327: Pars Real Estate LLC to Askay Properties LLC, $505,000

N. Front St., 1007, 1115: Industries for Pennsylvania to WCI Partners LP, $452,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 411: A. Hoffman to J. & E. Badeaux, $195,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 507: T. & P. Avant to S. Kolesar, $100,000

N. 2^nd St., 815: Bricker Boys Partnership to J. Ehring, $120,000

N. 2^nd St., 1208: T. Chang to A. Calvano, $110,000

N. 2^nd St., 1301: J. Schlegel to H. Rothrock, $99,800

N. 2^nd St., 1915: C. Benkovic to Apple Tree Community Development Co., $110,000

N. 2^nd St., 2241: K. Shubert & L. Christopher to E. & S. Lawrence, $179,900

N. 2^nd St., 2719: W. & C. Gosnell to J. MacDonald, $212,000

N. 2^nd St., 3225: A. Dillon & C. & D. Kenes to M. Letterman, $104,000

N. 4^th St., 2545: P. Roebuck to C. Plaines, $56,970

N. 5^th St., 3000: J. & E. MacDonald to M. Evans, $120,000

N. 5^th St., 3205: D. Schade to J. Rodriguez & I. Ramos, $105,000

Paxton St., 1630: S. Selimovic to C. Bruno, $33,000

Penn St., 1701: J. Allen to J. Chrisemer, $130,400

Penn St., 1927: WCI Partners LP to A. Griffith, $135,000

Pennwood Rd., 3120: J. Mohler & J. Suter to C. Brubaker, $133,000

Pine St., 116: Metro Bank Property Management Inc. to River and Pine LLC, $1,200,000

Pine St., 124 and 111 Barbara St.: Keystone Service Systems to River and Pine LLC, $1,000,000

Reily St., 209: J. Pamula to E. Fry, $137,000

Rudy Rd., 2459: J. Archie to A. Burno, $46,500

Rumson Rd., 2920: W. Quezada & M. Cedeno to W. & D. Illanes, $30,000

S. 13^th St., 348: R. Eisner & T. Lippi to M. Ortega, $47,500

S. 16^th St., 340: B. & R. Van Wyk to C. Okegue, $94,900

S. 24^th St., 608: R. Lawson to D. & A. Hoyt, $145,000

S. Cameron St., 1058: JWM Associates LP to MSJC Inc., $268,000

S. Front St., 711 & Hanna St., L2A, L3A: P. Moore to S. & D. Moffett, $193,000

State St., 1342: M. Lamereaux to R. Miles, $43,000

State St., 1410: R. & A. Sharp to S. Kochis, $78,000

State St., 1626: Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. Trustee to Harrisburg Homes Investment LLC, $34,344

State St., 1800 & 1802: CNC Realty Group LLC to Harrisburg Electricians Joint Apprenticeship & Training Trust Fund, $400,000

Swatara St., 1947: N. Williams to M. & T. Price & J. Seigle, $99,900

Verbeke St., 202: D. Michael to B. Hamilton, $96,000

Verbeke St., 234: J. Dixon to M. & M. Mumper, $178,000

Woodbine St., 226: Bank of New York Mellon Trustee to Axxess Creations LLC, $41,900

April News Digest

April 30, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

Cameron Street Land Transferred

Harrisburg last month ridded itself of several blighted, city-owned lots, transferring ownership to the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority.

By a 6-1 tally, City Council agreed to transfer 28-36 and 38-40 N. Cameron Street to the authority, which is expected to try to raise funds to raze the run-down buildings on the lots and perform site remediation.

The structures were built in the 1920s as automobile-related businesses and later were part of the expansive Keystone Building Products complex, which occupied most of the unit block of N. Cameron Street.

The city took possession of the properties in 1990 and has owned them since. Over the years, several re-development plans were proposed but fell through, leaving the buildings increasingly dilapidated. Two years ago, the city put 38-40 N. Cameron on the market for $150,000, but no buyers stepped forward.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse has said that the properties have “negative value,” as the city estimates that it will cost at least $600,000 just to return the land to a buildable empty lot.

Appalachian Brewing Co. abuts 38-40 N. Cameron and has expressed interest in the property. However, CEO Jack Sproch has said that the brewery will not buy the land if it also needs to absorb the expense of demolishing the buildings and performing ground remediation.

City Seeks to Revoke Business Licenses

Harrisburg has notified three bars—the Taproom and the Third Street Café, located next door to one another in Midtown, and the Royal Pub in Uptown—that it intends to revoke their mercantile licenses.

“We’re revoking their business licenses on grounds that they violated their agreement to operate in an acceptable manner,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “We consider a business license a privilege, not a right.”

Papenfuse said city police have documented repeated incidents of criminal activity in and around the bars, such as drug activity, though he would not state the exact claims against the bars.

Dave Larche, who has operated the Taproom for 23 years, said he would appeal the decision to the city’s Mercantile Licensing and Tax Appeals Board. Third Street Café’s owner Tony Paliometros said he also might appeal.

Recycling Program Changed

Major changes are coming to Harrisburg’s recycling program, the city announced last month.

The city no longer will accept glass in regular recycling, but will accept all paper products, which previously were not included. In addition, both residents and businesses will receive new trash and recycling containers.

Trash and recycling containers will be distributed to residents in June, while businesses will receive new containers in May.

Historic Homes May Be Saved

A pair of historic downtown homes may avoid the wrecking ball, as the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, which proposed tearing them down in a bid for more office space, has lowered the asking price.

Following opposition to the demolition proposal, PHFA agreed to offer the attached clapboard homes on the 100-block of Locust Street for $150,000, a bit below the $175,000 figure Brian Hudson, PHFA’s executive director, had cited at a previous planning commission hearing.

PHFA, which says it has outgrown the eight-story office building it has occupied at Front and Locust streets since 2004, sought to demolish the homes to clear the way for a new, 12-story, 160-foot office tower adjoining its existing structure.

Playground Grant Sought

Harrisburg last month applied for a state grant to improve five playgrounds, after City Council authorized the application.

The city is seeking $175,000 from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to begin the first phase of a project to rehabilitate the Norwood and Holly, 4^th and Dauphin, Penn and Sayford, Cloverly Heights and Royal Terrace playgrounds.

This grant would match a $175,000 grant already received from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, for a total of $350,000 for the first phase.

Most of the work would help shore up the playgrounds’ infrastructure in areas like drainage, green space, accessibility and signage. If the grant is received, the city expects most of the work to take place this fall.

The project’s second phase would cost another $350,000, which the administration also hopes to fund with grants.

Water, Trash Bills Separated

This month, Harrisburg residents will begin to receive separate bills for their water/sewer and trash.

The city last month announced that, beginning with this billing cycle, residents no longer will receive a combined utility bill. Instead, the city will mail a bill for sanitation services, while Capital Region Water will send a separate bill for water and sewer.

For decades, residents have received just a single bill. However, in late 2013, Capital Region Water was set up as a separate entity as part of the city’s financial recovery plan, necessitating separating billing and collections.

In addition to checks through the mail, Capital Region Water announced a number of ways for customers to pay:

Online through a secure customer portal at www.capitalregionwater.com
By calling the utility’s customer service number (888-510-0606)
In person, during regular office hours

“While some of our customers may consider the separation of bills to be an inconvenience, we see it as an opportunity,” said Capital Region Water CEO Shannon Williams. “We listened to our customers at town hall meetings, at our Customer Service Center and at community events. The number one request we heard: make paying bills easier. And that’s what we did.”

Residents can pay the city for sanitation services either in person or by mail.

Trail Improvement Planned

The Capital Area Greenbelt Association last month received city permission to raise money to improve a section of the Capital Area Greenbelt trail that runs through Harrisburg.

City Council voted unanimously to designate about six-tenths of a mile of city-owned property along South Cameron Street as public open space for recreation and part of the city’s public parklands.

The vote also authorized Harrisburg to enter into a cooperative agreement with Dauphin County and the Greenbelt Association to seek funding for construction of a permanent, all-weather trail surface on the property. The association also would be responsible for maintenance.

Oil Train Resolution Passes

Harrisburg City Council last month gave its unanimous consent to a resolution urging the federal government to reduce the risk to the city of oil trains.

The resolution urges Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation to review and update specifications and regulations for tank car design to reduce the risk of derailments. It also urges greater communication between local emergency management officials and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

About 25 trains pass through Harrisburg each week carrying crude oil from the Bakken fields in the upper Great Plains and Canada, said Councilman Brad Koplinski.

Changing Hands

Benton St., 607: L. Luis to D. Thomas, $66,000
Caledonia St., 1909: F. Arzuaga Sr. to L. & S. Torres, $112,900
Derry St., 1161 & 1163: Myers Home LLC to Able Property Management, $52,500
Edward St., 505: Freddie Mac to M. Brower, $94,900
Fillmore St., 610: Nationstar Mortgage LLC to Lucky Lan Properties LLC, $30,000
Fulton St., 1719: PA Deals LLC to M. Biscoe, $99,400
Green St., 1007: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development to N. Sinclair, $37,235
Green St., 1912: T. Wadlinger to B. Ostella & A. Fortino, $190,000
Green St., 2131: K. & K. Martin to E. Haggans, $54,000
Green St., 2931: D. & N. Korn to R. Christ & D. Cole, $220,000
Green St., 2960: A. & R. Emerick to D. & C. Graeff, $321,500
Industrial Rd., 3500 & 3500A: Keystone Central Storage LP et al to Northeast Northwest LLC et al, $35,357,681
Logan St., 1733: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development et al to PA Deals LLC, $50,250
Kensington St., 2408: Fern Lane LLC to PA Deals LLC, $32,000
Kensington St., 2439: Fannie Mae to C. & A. Dellmuth, $30,000
Logan St., 2446: PA Deals LLC to M. & J. Sather, $104,300
Mulberry St., 1808: T. Ruth to J. Ramos & M. Gonzalez, $50,000
North St., 228: N. Landis to N. Andrejack, $112,500
N. 4^th St., 2627: D. Travers to M. Hochstetler, $35,000
N. 7^th St., 931: Sera Tec Properties LLP to 7^th Street HLW LLC, $340,000
N. 16^th St., 912: B. & V. Fields to C. Van Den Hazenkamp, $79,900
Penn St., 2334: A. Yates to N. Symons, $79,000
Pennwood Rd., 3224: C. Mondorff to L. Rowland, $60,000
S. 16^th St., 902: N. Holmes to B. Owens, $72,000
S 16^th St., 935: K. Prophet & K. Ortiz to K. Fiavi, $55,000
S. 17^th St., 629: F. Bramande et al to RPM Holdings LLC, $262,500
S. 18^th St., 1122: A. & S. Tolos to R. Muhamad: $50,000
S. 24^th St., 618: P. Sowers-Alton to R. Spence, $100,000
Susquehanna St., 1426: S. Nickliss to R. Walton Jr., $93,500
Susquehanna St., 1730: Bank of New York Mellon to V. Graham & Signature Rehab Services LLC, $51,000
Verbeke St., 112: J. Snare to J. Staloski, $105,500
Verbeke St., 233: S. Livingston & C. Morris to D. Varno & C. Johnson, $113,000

Harrisburg property sales for March 2015, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

Riviera Razed: City Demolishes Historic, Blighted Hotel

February 12, 2015 | by Paul Barker

Workers today continued demolition at 1742 N. 6th, the former site of the Riviera Bar and Hotel.

Workers today continued demolition at 1742 N. 6th St., the former site of the Riviera Bar and Hotel.

The city continued demolition today on the Riviera Hotel, an abandoned bar and rooming house at the corner of 6^th and Kelker that rapidly deteriorated after a 2010 fire and recent series of collapses.

Dave Patton, codes administrator for the city, said the demolition work was bid out to Swatara Township-based Arney Brothers, Inc., for $24,549.

Demolition began on Monday and will probably take a couple of weeks, he said.

Patton also said the owners of the Riviera, Marion and Diana Nicklow of Hershey, have agreed in court to a plan to pay back the city for demolition costs.

The demolition concludes a troubled run for the Riviera, a three-story yellow brick building with faded, blue-gray paint on the window trim and the first-floor façade.

County property records show that the Nicklows purchased the building in March 1999 for $80,000.

They filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009, after defaulting on a business line of credit for the Riviera and a mortgage on a separate property, according to court records.

In June 2005, the Patriot-News reported that a man and a woman were found dead in a room there after another resident noticed a foul odor. Charles Kellar, then the city’s police chief, told the paper it appeared the woman had died weeks before the man.

More recently, Patton recalled discovering a homeless man living on the second floor, who appeared to have gained access via a fire escape. The building was condemned in May 2010 after a fire, Patton said.

A Google Earth satellite photo, dated Sept. 6, 2013, shows a gaping hole in the roof of the building, the sole standing structure on its side of the 1700-block of N. 6^th Street. Most of the surrounding blocks, once home to rows of attached buildings, are also largely barren, emptied of their Victorian-era structures.

Patton, who said he sought bids for demolition when the north wall began to appear increasingly unsound, recalled witnessing the damage last summer after a further collapse of the roof into the basement.

“It looked like a meteor just came down through the roof,” he said.

The Nicklows have pled guilty to three property code citations so far, Patton said.

“It’s been a long journey with this structure and owner,” he later added, “but fortunately we are nearing the end.”

Mounds of Dumped Material Mystify Uptown Neighborhood

December 12, 2014 | by Paul Barker

The mysterious mounds at 6th and Emerald.

It almost looks like part of the landscape: a few mounds of soil, stones and tattered black fabric, sprouting tall yellow grasses and dusted with snow.

In fact, it’s the discarded plantings from the State Street median below the capitol, excavated and replaced this fall as part of a $50,000 project funded by county gaming funds and donations from a neighborhood nonprofit.

The debris now sprawls across a few vacant lots at the corner of 6^th and Emerald streets, against a backdrop of bare trees and houses.

Ellen Crist, a member of Camp Curtin Community Neighbors United, an area neighborhood group, noticed the mounds recently and thought the materials looked familiar. So she posted some photos to Facebook and started calling around.

“Uptown should be taken seriously,” Crist later said. “I don’t think they would put this pile in Shipoke or Midtown and get away with it.”

Discovering how the pile got there in the first place, however, turned out to be somewhat more complicated.

The land, Crist learned, is owned by the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority. She called and spoke to a woman there who said she had no knowledge of the authority having given permission to dump materials on the property.

HRA staff did not answer phone calls near the end of the day Friday. Later that night, however, Bryan Davis, HRA’s executive director, wrote in an email that the city has a “standing agreement” with the city permitting it to temporarily store top soil or backfill on HRA lots.

Crist also called Aaron Johnson, the city’s public works director. Johnson, in a phone interview with TheBurg, said the city wasn’t involved in the dumping. He added that there had been problems with illegal dumping on the site over the summer, and that he was speaking with codes about possibly putting up fencing.

But Wayne Martin, the city engineer, later said the city was aware of the dumping, and in fact had approved it, because the materials were indeed going to be used as fill at a demolition site on Allison Hill.

The lots were being used as a transfer site before city workers took the fill to the demolition project, located near 15^th and Hunter streets. Bethesda Mission, a homeless shelter on Reily Street, had also coordinated with the city to dump materials from a recent renovation there, Martin said.

The State Street replanting took place in late October. Martin, referring to communications with the landscaper, Shaffer Landscapes of Middleburg, said that the project had been scheduled to begin on Oct. 23 and be complete by Nov. 12.

TheBurg photographed the median on Oct. 30, at which time the project appeared to be mostly complete. The materials would have been moved to the 6^th and Emerald site in late October or early November, Martin said.

State Street Improvement Association, a neighborhood nonprofit, spearheaded the project and sought input from residents on its design.

Two local developers, Alex Hartzler and Dave Butcher, led the effort and contributed the bulk of the private funding of the project through their company, WCI Partners.

Hartzler is also the publisher of TheBurg.

Hartzler said Friday that the idea of donating the fill came up at a neighborhood meeting about the project, during which Martin had brought up the possibility of using it at a demolition site.

Hartzler said he and the landscapers were happy to give the material to the city, and that he found the use “entirely appropriate.” He added, however, that he “can sympathize with neighbors who own property next to a vacant lot” and would be concerned to see material dumped there without explanation.

“It’s a positive thing that the neighbors are concerned and would call the city about it,” he said. “If it were me, I would make a similar call.”

Martin said the public works department would be collecting the fill soon, and that it would be “gone within the next week.”

Crist, for her part, reached Martin on Friday, too, and got his explanation. “Just as long as it is moved and Uptown stops being a dumping site,” she wrote TheBurg afterwards, “I am okay with it.”

This story has been updated with comments from HRA’s executive director, Bryan Davis.

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