Tag Archives: German Jackson

Stay Awhile: Sankofa, Gamut team to highlight local history in “The Jackson Rooming House: Music’s Resting Place”

January 30, 2024 | by Gina Napoli

Cast of ” The Jackson Rooming House: Music’s Resting Place.”

When I think of great musicians like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, Count Basie and Cab Calloway, Muddy Waters and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, I can’t picture any of these colossal stars in my hometown. But back in their heydays, all played Harrisburg venues as they worked their way up and down the East Coast.

This month, their journeys through Harrisburg will be highlighted in Sankofa African American Theatre Company’s original play, “The Jackson Rooming House: Music’s Resting Place.” Sharia Benn, Sankofa’s executive artistic director, and Clark Nicholson, Gamut Theatre’s founding artistic director, co-authored this musical drama to celebrate Black History Month.

The play’s plot features the journeys of trailblazing Black artists who brought their legendary jazz, gospel, blues, country and western, and rock ‘n’ roll music to towns all across the country. It’s set against the historical backdrop of Jim Crow-era segregation, when mainstream travel wasn’t considered safe for Black people.

“Their music formed the contemporary music we enjoy today,” Benn said. “It became America’s music, enjoyed by all races and generations of people.”

The play opens with three young Harrisburg residents, who find themselves in the ruins of the Jackson Rooming House on N. 6th Street. When they cross over a magical portal, their surroundings transform into the hotel’s former glory during its primetime.

The young people learn directly from former owner, German Jackson, and present-day guides not only about the music that influenced the generations, but about how Black performers were afforded safe and dignified transportation and lodging by using The Green Book, a Black-friendly travel directory. From the 1920s through the 1970s, the Green Book listed the Jackson Rooming House, among other Harrisburg landmarks and Black-owned establishments.

Even if you’re only familiar with the present-day burger joint next door of the same name, this play will reanimate the Jackson Rooming House as a lively scene, complete with well-appointed rooms and concierge-level service. (Some of the musicians mentioned were even painted on the building’s mural before it collapsed in 2021.) And audiences will learn about the wonderful world of local rooming houses that hosted these famous entertainers so long ago.

Although Benn and Nicholson researched and wrote the play with middle school and high school students in mind, people of all ages will learn some important local history, as well as the greater message. And if education isn’t why you usually attend live theater, don’t worry—the play features a great live band you can skip, scat and doodle-do to.

Local actors play all the roles, many performing in previous productions for both Sankofa and Gamut.

“Local is part of Sankofa’s mission,” Benn said. “We have talent here that needs to be mined, developed and encouraged. When we do have talent, they will go away [from Harrisburg], but I want them to have something to come back to—and for.”

Marking the sixth year of Sankofa and Gamut collaborating, Gamut Theatre’s Executive Director Melissa Nicholson values this partnership in support of Gamut’s mission to tell stories in new and exciting ways, to bolster their educational programs, and to be able to share history with student groups.

“It’s important to Gamut that we cherish classic stories, stories from the past and to share with future generations where we fit into history, especially Black history,” Nicholson said.

Benn is hopeful that this play will help to promote a sense of safe belonging for young people, especially “under the shadow of the pandemic and political unrest.”

Directly following each show, talkbacks will give attendees the opportunity “to ask questions, learn and share in a community where we find ourselves divided politically, culturally and socially,” Benn said.

“Music has a unifying spirit, bringing us together, allowing us to level set, to come out stronger, more respectful, more peaceful than when we went in,” she said.

Benn’s other challenge: “Sit next to someone you wouldn’t otherwise.”

And a postscript—Benn feels a special connection to Gertrude “Ma” Rainey because she portrayed her in Open Stage of Harrisburg’s 2012 production of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” earning Benn a “Best Actress in a Play” award from Broadway World.

“The Jackson Rooming House: Music’s Resting Place” runs Feb. 10 to 25 at Gamut Theatre, 15 N. 4th St., Harrisburg. For more information and tickets, visit www.sankofatheatrehbg.com or www.gamuttheatre.org.

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Measure of Hope: Renovation arrives suddenly to N. 6th Street

August 16, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Matt Long of Harrisburg Commercial Interiors inside the Curtis Funeral Home/Swallow Mansion

After decades of blight and inaction, a historic Harrisburg block is undergoing a rapid transformation, removing an eyesore on a prominent city street and adding new apartments to Midtown.

Currently, three long-dilapidated properties are—or soon will be—under restoration on the 1000-block of N. 6th Street, a highly visible street and one of the last remnants of a once-thriving commercial strip that catered primarily to Harrisburg’s African-American community.

Brothers LeRon and LeSean McCoy, under the name Vice Capital LLC, are renovating 1000 N. 6th St.—at the corner of Boas Street—into a five-unit, market-rate apartment building, with additional retail or community space, according to LeRon.

“We looked around and decided to find a project that would be of benefit to both Harrisburg and ourselves,” he said, in a recent phone interview.

The brothers are Harrisburg natives who played football for Bishop McDevitt High School. LeRon, a retired wide receiver, played professionally for the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans, while LeSean, a former Philadelphia Eagle, is currently a running back for the Buffalo Bills.

LeRon McCoy said that building, also known as the Swallow Mansion and, later, the Curtis Funeral Home, is an investment for the pair.

The 1000-block of N. 6th Street, looking north, with the Swallow Mansion in the foreground

“LeSean and I have a desire to develop in Harrisburg,” he said. “It’s something he’s been wanting to do for a long time.”

Last year, the circa-1896, corner building suffered a partial collapse, with bricks and debris spilling onto the sidewalk on the Boas Street side. The collapse seemed to prompt long-time owner, Annette Antoun, to finally part with the property.

Antoun bought it in 2000 from the Historic Harrisburg Association, believing it would become part of former Mayor Steve Reed’s plan to develop the block as an African-American history museum. However, that museum was never built and, over the years, the building remained boarded up and increasingly dilapidated.

LeRon said he expects the project to be completed by year-end.

“It will be high end,” he said. “We want that area to look as nice as it used to.”

Right next door, at 1002 N. 6th St., a company called LBR Properties has begun to renovate that long-neglected building, which Antoun had owned for 35 years. The company is building out three apartments—two one-bedroom units and a “large studio”—as well as a small retail space on the first floor, according to co-owner Rani Rammouni.

“We’re gutting it and bringing it up to par,” he said, expecting the project to be completed in about two months. “We want to bring them as close to class-A as possible. We’ll have all the upgrades a class-A would have.”

Rammouni said that the block was ripe for redevelopment considering all the development in Midtown over the past decade, as well as its proximity to the Capitol complex.

“It’s positioned so well with the commonwealth right there,” he said.

The view of the block looking south, with the Jackson Hotel in the foreground

Next to that building is the beloved burger and sandwich restaurant, the Jackson House, and next to that, at 1006 N. 6th St., sits the “Jackson Hotel,” a former hotel and boarding house that once catered to African-American patrons who were denied service in Harrisburg’s white-only hotels.

Harrisburg Commercial Interiors bought that building last year, and company owner Matt Long said that his company will begin demolition work in September.

The Jackson Hotel has been empty and boarded up since long-time owner German Jackson died in 1998. In recent years, the building’s roof caved in, and the back of the building has collapsed.

Nonetheless, Long expects to fully rebuild and restore the property. Last month, the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board gave Long permission to perform extensive rehabilitation work, including rebuilding the rear portion of the building and installing a new roof, new windows, new floors and other improvements.

When complete, the 3,420-square-foot building will consist of four apartments, with commercial space on the first floor, Long said. Notably, the large mural, which features African-American entertainers and historic figures, some of whom stayed at the hotel, will be preserved.

“I’ve seen these buildings boarded up for as long as I’ve been here,” Long said, adding that he tried to buy the Swallow Mansion from Antoun some 14 years ago. “But they just sat and sat and sat. Now, the time is right.”

Ted Hanson, a Boas Street resident since 1978, said that he’s waited decades for the 6^th Street properties to be redeveloped.

“This finally has come to pass now that Steve Reed and Annette Antoun are out of the picture,” he said. “Forces are aligning that some needed development is happening there.”

Long’s company is also performing the restoration work on the Swallow Mansion/Curtis Funeral Home for the McCoys. LeRon McCoy said that he hired Long after seeing the work his company did to rebuild another tumbledown structure—the long-dilapidated building at North and Susquehanna streets that soon will be the new home of Elementary Coffee Co.

Demolition debris piled on the first floor of the Curtis Funeral Home/Swallow Mansion

McCoy said that he and his brother have an even grander vision for the block, which would result in dozens of new apartments.

They want to purchase the Jackson Hotel property from Long and then build a new, larger, market-rate apartment building next to it at the corner of N. 6^th and Herr streets, property currently owned by Bethel AME Church. That lot has been empty since the church burned down in 1995.

McCoy said that they’re currently in talks to buy that property from the church.

“This is all part of a larger project we’re working on,” McCoy said. “We have a vision for that block.”

For more detailed history about this block, read our award-winning feature story from 2013.

Renewed Hope: Historic Jackson Hotel set for new owner; restoration planned.

October 26, 2018 | by Lawrance Binda

The historic Jackson Hotel at 1006 N. 6th St. in Harrisburg

One of Harrisburg’s most endangered historic properties has renewed hope today, as a local contractor has agreed to buy the building and take on the ambitious restoration.

Developer Matt Long said that he expects to close next week on the purchase of the former Jackson Hotel on the 1000-block of N. 6^th Street. He then plans to empty out the large quantity of rubble inside the building and stabilize it for winter.

“It probably will take us a month to pull everything out of it,” Long said. “Then we need to stabilize the foundation.”

Earlier this year, the city condemned the circa-1884, Second Empire mansion, which served for decades as the Jackson Hotel, run by hotelier German Jackson. Starting in the 1920s, Jackson ran the hotel and rooming house to serve a primarily African-American clientele, including many black celebrities, who were denied service in Harrisburg’s whites-only establishments.

Jackson, who died in 1993, willed the building to his friend Dave Kegris, owner of the Jackson House restaurant next door. But the building became caught up in a prolonged legal battle over Jackson’s estate and sat empty for years.

Recently, several Harrisburg residents have bought the building to try to save it, but the restoration has proven to be too extensive and expensive. A few years ago, much of the roof caved in, the interior staircase collapsed and the floors pancaked, leaving a large pile of debris inside.

The current owner, Jeremiah Chamberlin, said that he met Long recently while Long’s company, Harrisburg Commercial Interiors, was working on another challenging restoration—the dilapidated commercial buildings at the corner of North and Susquehanna streets in Harrisburg.

“I saw the work he was doing, and it’s quality work,” Chamberlin said, who described their meeting as “kismet.” “So, I decided to pass it on to someone else who is capable and can do a good job.”

Long said that his team will begin clearing out the Jackson Hotel soon after the sale, which is expected to close on Nov. 2.

After the building is emptied out and stabilized, Long’s company will construct a completely new interior and roof, he said. He said that he plans to build an open floor plan that can accommodate a variety of uses.

He hopes to save as much of the facade as possible, he said, including the large brick exterior wall that features a mural of prominent African Americans who once stayed at the hotel or who are locally famous.

For the project, Long has engaged structural engineer Ed Davis of Schuylkill Haven-based Miller Brothers Construction. They also worked together on the North Street project.

“We applaud this very encouraging step,” said David Morrison, executive director of Historic Harrisburg Association. “The Jackson House has been on our ‘Preservation Priorities’ list since 2000.”

June News Digest

June 30, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Dog Park Proposed

Terriers and hounds soon may displace groundhogs and squirrels from a block of long-empty land in Midtown, as plans are afoot for Harrisburg’s first public dog park.

The community group Friends of Midtown is raising about $18,000 to cover two years of expenses for the off-leash park, which would be created on a grassy, three-quarter-acre expanse at N. 7th and Granite streets.

“We have the enthusiastic support of the city, the planning bureau,” said Annie Hughes, who is spearheading the effort for Friends of Midtown with her husband Andy. “Everybody’s all in, essentially.”

The Vartan Group owns the lot and has agreed to a two-year commitment, Hughes said. Friends of Midtown should hear soon on the fate of a grant application from PPL Electric and also is soliciting funds from individuals. It hopes to have the park, which would be free and open to the public, ready by spring 2018.

Plans call for a fence to ring the lot, which would be divided into two areas—one for large dogs and the other for small dogs. Dog waste bags would be available on site, and signs would be posted with the rules of the park.

The desire for a dog park in Harrisburg has come up repeatedly in recent years. Two years ago, it was the fifth most-popular suggestion among 1,200 ideas for inclusion in the city’s comprehensive plan, Hughes said.

She added that the dog park would be temporary, serving as a pilot for the city, which may use data collected from this effort to build a permanent park.

Jackson Hotel Mural

A new mural will celebrate Harrisburg’s African-American history, adorning the side of a building that once hosted such luminaries as Louis Armstrong and Pearl Bailey.

Sprocket Mural Works announced the project last month for the former Jackson Hotel and Rooming House on the 1000-block of N. 6th Street, a building that, decades ago, catered primarily to a black clientele refused service in the city’s major, segregated hotels.

“It will be an African-American historic mural, playing off the history itself,” said Sprocket co-founder Jeff Copus.

The Jackson Hotel painting is one of 10 murals that will be created during the Harrisburg Mural Festival, which Sprocket is organizing for the first 10 days of September.

Copus last month told the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board (HARB) that the mural will feature people who stayed at the hotel, possibly including entertainers like Armstrong, Bailey, Cab Callaway and Ella Fitzgerald. It may also incorporate images of important Harrisburg figures such as Ephraim Slaughter, an escaped slave who fought in the Civil War and later settled in the city.

In August, Sprocket will seek public input for the mural design, Copus said.

Sprocket is commissioning artist Cesar Viveros to paint the mural. Locally, Viveros is best known as the artist-in-residence who helped design and lead the creation of the Mulberry Street Bridge murals.

Stop the Drop

A small change to trashcan lids may cut the amount of litter on Harrisburg streets.

That’s the idea behind “Stop the Drop,” a campaign to turn home trashcans into, essentially, public trashcans.

The new lids are bright orange with a hole in the center that residents can attach to their trashcans, replacing their existing, solid lids. Pedestrians then can put litter into the can through the hole, rather than toss it in the street, said Julie Walter, neighborhood revitalization manager at Tri County Community Action, a part of the grassroots coalition Clean and Green Harrisburg.

A successful, three-month pilot run on 6th and Market streets convinced the coalition to roll out the lids citywide, Walter said.

“[We were] excited that people were actually using the lids,” she said about the trial run. “When we would go check them out, there would be coffee cups and chip bags in the cans. You can tell that there was actually a need.”

Later this month, residents citywide will be able to volunteer to swap their lids out with the new lids. These new lids work well with rowhome residents who place their trashcans at the front of their houses, she said.

King Mansion Sells

Harrisburg’s iconic Horace King Mansion sold last month, purchased by an engineering firm that plans to relocate there.

K & W Engineers, under the holding company name 2201 NFS LLC, purchased the building at 2201 N. Front St., along with several adjacent parcels, for $1.8 million from a group called 2201 Partnership, which had owned it since 2003.

The 10-person engineering and consulting firm expects to leave its current offices in Swatara Township and move into the building once renovations are completed this fall. To that end, CREDC provided a $325,000 Enterprise Zone Loan for improvements to the second floor.

The building also houses the marketing firm Sacunas, which moved into the first floor late last year.

Home Sales Up Again

Area home sales continued a years-long climb, as unit sales rose 4.4 percent in May, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors.

GHAR said that May sales totaled 948 units versus 908 houses in the year-ago period. The median price dipped to $170,000 compared to $174,900 in May 2016.

Dauphin County sales were strong, with 355 units sold versus 297 in the year prior, with the median price unchanged at $155,000. In Cumberland County, 310 houses sold compared to 326 in May 2016, with the median price falling to $190,125 versus $193,950, said GHAR.

In Perry County, 43 houses sold versus 30 in the year prior, and the median price fell to $127,000 against $151,500 in May 2016, said GHAR.

GHAR covers Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties and parts of York, Lebanon and Juniata counties.

So Noted

Andrew Guth of Harrisburg took first place in the category of “Work on Paper” at the 2017 “Art of the State,” a juried exhibit held each year at the State Museum of PA to honor the commonwealth’s best artwork. Guth is a Millworks and Burg artist, contributing the cover art for our May issue. You can see his winning entry, “Where We Used to Go When Everything Was Wrong (I Watched the Lilies Grow Until They Got Old),” with the rest of the exhibit, which runs through Sept. 10 at the State Museum.

Anna Rose Bakery & Coffee Shop opened last month at Walnut and N. 2^nd streets in Harrisburg, featuring doughnuts, cupcakes, cookies and espresso drinks. The business, owned by Ron Kamionka, is located in the rear portion of the former Molly Brannigans Irish Pub, which closed almost three years ago.

Excelon Corp. is making plans to shutter Three Mile Island in 2019 absent policy reforms by the state legislature to make nuclear power more competitive. TMI employs 675 workers, most of whom would lose their jobs if the facility closed.

Freshido, a fast-casual restaurant specializing in Asian cuisine, is expected to land this fall in Strawberry Square, at the corner of N. 3^rd and Market streets. The 50-seat eatery will occupy the 2,200-square-foot storefront long vacated by Plum Sport.

Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District launched “Discover the Ducks Downtown,” an outdoor art and beautification exhibit for the summer. Along with HDID, Harrisburg-based Sprocket Mural Works commissioned artists to paint 15 fiberglass ducks, which now can be seen throughout the downtown.

Harrisburg Hoopla, a field day of track-and-field activities, raised $5,500 last month for local nonprofits. Fourteen groups with 101 participants competed for select organizations in this first-ever charitable event, sponsored by Emerging Philanthropists Program, a partnership of TFEC and HYP.

Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitor’s Bureau last month received a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation from the Public Relations Society of America. The award was for “Tourism in Your Town,” a series of advertorials that appeared in TheBurg throughout 2016.

PFM Asset Management signed a lease last month for 63,133 square feet of space in an office building at 213 Market St. in Harrisburg. By year-end, the firm plans to relocate its 150 employees from 100 Market St., where it has been for the past 20 years, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE Group, which represented the company.

Rite Aid has opened in Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg. The new, 14,000-square-foot store moved from cramped quarters across Market Street after a yearlong build-out.

Changing Hands

Adrian St., 2418: G. Brown to R. Ivey, $30,000

Balm St., 60: Kusic Financial Services LLC to OJK Enterprises, $32,000

Bellevue Rd., 1921: CNC Realty Group LLC to J. Romelfanger, $55,000

Berryhill St., 2202: PA Deals LLC to R. Narinesingh, $62,500

Berryhill St., 2316: D. & Y. Jiang to D. & L. Nguyen, $30,000

Boas St., 1925: P. Long to Resistance Properties LLC, $38,000

Camp St., 521: G. & S. Gallagher to K. Moralez, $30,000

Conoy St., 123: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems Network Corp. to E. Fultz, $73,000

Elliot St., 1080, Lot 2: R. & C. Berger to A. Gerges, $250,000

Fox Ridge Ct., 307: B. Miler to C. Hoover, $121,500

Green St., 1007: R. Nicoli to J. & C. Nunley, $110,000

Green St., 1915: J. & K. Johnston to S. Williams, $207,900

Green St., 1930: A. Miller to I. Bailey, $205,000

Green St., 2013: L. Binda to M. Didone, $214,000

Green St., 2137: Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. Trustee to N. Morrison, $32,694

Green St., 2321: J. Yoder to Willowscott Investment LLC, $37,500

Hale Ave., 447: K. & L. Torres to D. Norris, $62,000

Hamilton St., 242: J. & J. Collins to P. Christensen, $150,309

Harris St., 207: MTGLQ Investors LP & Selene Finance LP to K. Clark, $117,900

Harris St., 344: MidAtlantic IRA LLC Phillip Sachs IRA to M. & A. Gilbert, $108,500

Herr St., 269: G. Thall to M. Berlin, $115,000

Hoffman St., 3221: W. Wood to N. Consagra & L. Umberger, $109,900

Holly St., 2006: W. Thompson III to SCC Ward Inc., 32,000

Kelker St., 427: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems & Networks Corp. to I. Jordan, $32,500

Kensington St., 2110 & 2116: Donald L. Pong Trust to M. & A. Robinson, $59,000

Lewis St., 237: J. Toro to M. Horgan & Innovative Devices Inc.., $43,500

Locust St., 202: AMTO LLC to Sturges Property Management LLC, $300,000

Luce St., 2320: EAD Associates LLC to S. Ginder, $38,000

Muench St., 278: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems & Network Corp. to H. & C. Foley, $44,06

N. 2^nd St., 1522: J. Cantarell & A. Meck to K. Reiter, $164,000

N. 2^nd St., 2323: LSFP Master Participation Trust to M. Horgan & CR Services Inc., 63,900

N. 2^nd St., 2528: A. & C. Broadus to E. Pine & S. Ransome, $145,000

N. 4^th St., 3119: R. & C. Steele to T. Gottshall, $123,500

N. 4^th St., 3213: A. Semancik to G. Erdman & S. Ukodie, $120,000

N. 4^th St., 3227: Central Penn Properties to T. Barnes, $142,000

N. 5^th St., 2515: 2013 M&M Real Estate Fund LLC to T. & V. Williams, $129,900

N. 5^th St., 2600: PA Deals LLC to S. & S. Aiken, $69,900

N. 7^th St., 2714: M. Owens to L. Owens, $45,158

N. 14^th St., 1206, 1314 N. 15^th St. & 603 Benton St.: Kirsch & Burns LLC to Equity Trust Co. Custodian John Spencer IRA, $165,000

N. 15^th St., 1340: MidAtlantic IRA LLC James Yeager IRA to Z. Yap, $39,000

N. 16^th St., 1216: R. Urrutia to W. Jones, $110,000

N. 17^th St., 1102: C. & N. Finnell to J. Martinez & T. Kobayashi, $33,500

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 605: A. Lenda to C. Carter, $173,500

Peffer St., 219: N. Braun to D. Wendt & S. Shultz, $122,000

Peffer St., 317: 1515 Associates to D. Berhe, $75,000

Penn St., 1605: R. Daniels to L, D. & R. Olenowski, $87,500

Reel St., 2416 & 2418: 24 Reel Street LLC to American Rental Home LLC, $52,000

Rudy Rd., 2454: J. & S. Merlina to J. Howard, $57,500

Sassafras St., 269 & 1112 Susquehanna St.: R. & J. Ruth to Major League Properties LLC, $60,000

Showers St., 605: H. Madsen to J. Moore, $163,900

South St., 122: Tang Liu Realty LLC to FA Realty LLC, $126,000

S. 2^nd St., 316: WK Rentals to Diamond Real Estate Solutions LLC, $32,000

S. 13^th St., 1456, 1460 & 1466: Davden Property Investments Inc. to 4880 East Prospect LLC, $66,000.

S. 16^th St., 947: R. Splawn to L. Jackson, $30,000

S. 24^th St., 623: K. & D. Brown to S. Jordan, $72,200

Swatara St., 2055: G. Barlow to S. Thomas, $34,500

Swatara St., 2413: J. Garisto to PI Capital LLC, $85,801

Verbeke St., 300: Kidder Wilkes LP to Silverstone Enterprises LLC, $215,000

Watson St., 2815: R. & A. Gates & C. Windham to LJ Realty Trust, $59,800

Harrisburg property sales for May 2017, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Brush with Greatness: African-American history mural planned for side of Jackson Hotel.

June 6, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

The old Jackson Hotel in Harrisburg, including, at the right, the wall where a mural is planned.

A new mural will celebrate Harrisburg’s African-American history, adorning the side of a building that once hosted such luminaries as Louis Armstrong and Pearl Bailey.

Sprocket Mural Works announced the project yesterday for the former Jackson Hotel and Rooming House on the 1000-block of N. 6^th Street, a building that, decades ago, catered primarily to a black clientele refused service in the city’s major, segregated hotels.

“It will be an African-American historic mural, playing off the history itself,” said Sprocket co-founder Jeff Copus.

The Jackson Hotel painting is one of 10 murals that will be created during the Harrisburg Mural Festival, which Sprocket is organizing for the first 10 days of September.

Copus last night told the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board (HARB) that the mural will feature people who stayed at the hotel, possibly including entertainers like Armstrong, Bailey, Cab Callaway and Ella Fitzgerald. It may also incorporate images of important Harrisburg figures such as Ephraim Slaughter, an escaped slave who fought in the Civil War and later settled in the city.

In August, Sprocket will seek public input for the mural design, Copus said.

HARB voted 4-2 to support the mural, the two “no” votes from members who wanted more input into the actual mural design. While HARB must approve a mural project within the historic district, the details of the painting are beyond its purview.

As the building’s owner, HARB member Jeremiah Chamberlin abstained from the vote. Chamberlin bought the building about 18 months ago, hoping to save it from further deterioration. It has been unoccupied for almost 20 years since the death of long-time owner German Jackson, who bequeathed it Dave Kegris, owner of the Jackson House restaurant next door. Kegris eventually sold it to Kerry and Lessa Helm, who then sold it to Chamberlin.

Ted Hanson, a long-time resident of the Old Fox Ridge neighborhood, wanted assurances that Chamberlin would begin work to stabilize and restore the building.

“My concern is that the building is in serious distress,” Hanson told the HARB board. “I am very concerned if stability doesn’t happen very quickly, you’ll be painting a mural on a crumbling property.”

Chamberlin assured Hanson that he would begin work on the building “within the next couple of weeks.”

“I have no desire to see my investment lost either,” Chamberlin said.

Hanson also was concerned that the mural might impede development of the vacant lots next door, as new construction could block the view of the mural. Copus said that Sprocket would not stand in the way of the development of the empty lots at N. 6^th and Herr streets, which are owned by the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority and by Bethel AME Church, a historically black congregation that lost its church to an arson fire in 1995.

“Hopefully, this will generate interest in that underutilized lot,” Copus said.

Click here for more information on the Harrisburg Mural Festival.

Author: Lawrance Binda

December News Digest

December 30, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

2016 Budget Passed

Harrisburg City Council last month passed the city’s 2016 spending plan, a $60.7 million budget crafted by the city administration

Council voted 5-2 in favor of the budget, though council President Wanda Williams said the spending plan would be reopened and reconsidered in January, once three new council members take their seats.

Two public hearings will precede a vote on a revised budget, she said.

As passed last month, the budget adds 36 new positions, half in a newly created Neighborhood Services division, which would be funded out of city trash bills. Besides sanitation, the new division absorbs many functions previously funded by taxes, including some road and parks maintenance.

The administration also has proposed tripling the local services tax (LST) to $3 per week per worker. The Commonwealth Court must first approve the hike, which then must be sanctioned by council.

The LST is a tax on people who have jobs in the city and earn more than an annual threshold income, which is proposed to be about $24,000. While it does affect some city residents, most of the burden falls on commuters, a point made repeatedly last month by Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

Council members Brad Koplinski and Sandra Reid were the lone votes against the spending plan. Both said they believed the budget contained excess spending and objected to any increase in the LST.

It was the final meeting for Koplinski and Reid, as well as for three-term Councilwoman Susan Brown-Wilson. Reid and Brown-Wilson did not seek re-election last year, while Koplinski lost his seat in the Democratic primary.

This month, three new council members will be sworn into office: Cornelius Johnson, Westburn Majors and Destini Hodges.

TRAN OK’d

For a third straight year, Harrisburg is issuing a tax and revenue anticipation note, a form of short-term borrowing meant to cover a potential budget shortfall.

City Council voted unanimously last month to enter into an agreement with M&T Bank for the $4.5 million TRAN, which carries an interest rate of 2.53 percent and includes a $5,000 nonrefundable fee. Any drawdown on the loan must be repaid by June 30.

Municipal finances are typically tight for the first three months of the year, until the city begins to receive property tax revenue in March. Harrisburg entered into similar loan agreements in 2014 and 2015, but never had to tap them for funds.

City officials, however, said they were more concerned this year due to the state budget deadlock. At press time, the legislature still had not passed a budget, meaning that the state’s $5 million annual contribution to the city for emergency services had not been agreed to or paid.

Streetlight Project Launched

Harrisburg last month officially launched its citywide streetlight project, which will replace all 6,100 existing streetlights with new LED bulbs.

The $3.7 million project, the largest of its kind in Pennsylvania, should be completed by April.

Officials said the project would cut the city’s electric bill by two-thirds, saving more than $500,000 per year, and that the project would pay for itself in about six years. The savings are guaranteed under a contract with The Efficiency Network, a Pittsburgh-based company managing the upgrade.

The bulk of the project cost is being paid with a $3.2 million loan from M&T Bank. The city is seeking a grant from Impact Harrisburg, a nascent nonprofit promoting infrastructure improvement and economic development, which would allow it to pay off the bank loan early if awarded.

Part of the cost is also being paid by a $500,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority and a $30,000 donation from Lighten Up Harrisburg, an organization that raises money to improve city lighting through an annual 5K run.

State Rebukes Fraud Charge

The state agency overseeing Harrisburg’s financial recovery has sharply critiqued public accusations of fraud by Mayor Eric Papenfuse in a private letter, calling them “unsubstantiated” and “categorically untrue.”

Dennis M. Davin, secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development, wrote that his agency was “distressed” by Papenfuse’s claims that consultants had intentionally misrepresented how much money the city would get from its parking system.

“The team dedicated to supporting the City of Harrisburg’s recovery efforts is committed to providing the highest level of professional assistance,” Davin wrote in the letter, which TheBurg obtained through an open records request. “Given this fact, we take any allegations of fraud very seriously.”

Davin signed the letter in his role as chairman of the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority, a funding arm of his department that issued $286 million in bonds to finance the 2013 lease of the city’s parking system.

Papenfuse made his remarks at the authority’s Oct. 21 board meeting, when he addressed shortfalls in the so-called “waterfall” payments that provide critical money to the city out of overall parking revenues. The mayor suggested that professionals working on the lease had knowingly misrepresented the amount of money the system would produce.

“Frankly, I believe that these numbers of waterfall payments were inflated simply to make the numbers work for the Strong Plan, which means that essentially a fraud was perpetrated on you and us and the residents of the city,” Papenfuse said.

Papenfuse told the board that annual parking revenues to the city were around $1 million short. He said that as a result the city would have to raise taxes, and he urged the board to “hold somebody accountable” for the incorrect projections.

New School Board President

A divided Harrisburg school board last month elected Danielle Robinson as its new president.

Robinson was elected by a 4-3 vote, eking past James Thompson, who will remain vice president.

The board needed to seat a new president after the sudden resignation of former President Jennifer Smallwood, who was just re-elected in November. At press time, the board had not yet selected a replacement for Smallwood.

HDID Reauthorized

The Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District has been reauthorized for another two years.

The Harrisburg City Council voted to reauthorize the nonprofit through Dec. 31, 2017, countering the wishes of HDID officials, who had sought a five-year extension.

Since forming in 2000, the HDID has had three, five-year renewals. However, the city administration supported just a two-year extension this time so that it could more quickly assess HDID’s progress in making downtown cleaner, more attractive and more supportive of businesses.

Most of HDID’s $780,000 annual budget derives from a tax on commercial properties within the district, which covers a 25-block area of downtown Harrisburg from State Street to just south of Harrisburg Hospital.

In a public hearing in October, HDID officials staunchly defended their record of helping to keep downtown attractive and safe, even though some business owners said it should expand its mission to include areas like parking and promotion.

“Two years, five years, 10 years—it doesn’t matter,” said HDID Executive Director Todd VanderWoude following the council vote. “We’ll just keep on rolling.”

Jackson Hotel Sells

The historic Jackson Hotel has new ownership, as former City Council candidate Jeremiah Chamberlin last month bought the dilapidated property with plans to restore it.

Chamberlin purchased the three-story building on the 1000-block of N. 6^th Street in Harrisburg for $4,000 from Kerry and Lessa Helm, who had bought it earlier in the year from Dave and Diana Kegris.

For many years, German Jackson operated a hotel from the property, catering primarily to African-American visitors who were shut out of the city’s whites-only establishments.

Jackson willed the property to Kegris, who opened the Jackson House restaurant next door. Kegris, though, could not find funds to restore the large, Gothic-style main building, which became increasingly run down.

So Noted

GK Visual soon will move into a new home in the Old Fox Ridge neighborhood of Midtown Harrisburg, allowing the visual production company to grow and expand capacity. Owner Nate Kresge said his company bought the 7,000-square-foot building at 933 Rose St. last month. The building triples the company’s space from its current location in Uptown Harrisburg.

Harristown Enterprises has purchased the building housing one of Harrisburg’s oldest businesses, Walker’s Art & Framing. Under its acquisition wing, Dewberry LLC, Harristown bought the building for $350,000 from the Walker family, who will continue to run the 58-year-old business at 25 S. 3^rd St., said Harristown President and CEO Brad Jones. Harristown needed the building to complete its acquisition of a five-townhouse row, which will now be renovated with commercial space on the ground floors and apartments above, Jones said. Harristown also is renovating a six-story brick building across the street, converting the long-time office space to 15 high-end, one-bedroom apartments.

Amma Jo LLC opened a showroom location last month in Strawberry Square at 320 Market St. Run by Amma Johnson, Ammo Jo focuses on designer handbags and accessories. It serves as a fulfillment center and also features special in-store retail events. For more information, visit www.shopammajo.com.

Keystone K9, a “one-stop pet service,” debuted last month at 931 N. 7^th St. in Harrisburg. In addition to a doggie daycare, Keystone K9 offers training, grooming and boarding. More information can be found at www.keystone-k9.com.

Phyllo Greek Cuisine opened last month in the stone building of the Broad Street Market. Run by mother Anna Ntzanis and her daughter, Katerina, the stand offers a menu of Greek food staples, such as pastitsio, moussaka and spanakopita. The Ntzanis family has long run Harrisburg’s Midtown Tavern.

Capital Area Transit last month began new bus service between Harrisburg/Steelton and the Allen Road warehouses in Carlisle. The new Route C allows workers to connect to jobs in the growing warehouse complex, which houses several major employers.

Changing Hands

Calder St., 122 & 1332 N. 2^nd St.: R. & C. Horst to Bitner Rentals LLC, $600,000

Conoy St., 117: N. Woods to Mannjeim LLC, $40,000

Edward St., 240: E. Pappas to C. Messinger, $205,000

Fulton St., 1400: PA Deals LLC to Heller Investments LLC, $110,000

Green St., 1928: M. & S. Young to J. Hardie & T. Craven, $207,000

Green St., 1935: N. Williams to R. Holder, $212,000

Hale Ave., 375: M. & V. Cecka to RDR Property Management LLC, $50,000

Kensington St., 2318: M. & V. Cecka to RDR Property Management LLC, $45,000

Lewis St., 245: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Michaelson, Connor & Boul to M. Sheehan, $47,011

Market St., 1435: K. Quenzer to J. & M. Fitzgibbon, $33,000

North St., 239: K. Sheetz to D. McClellan, $225,000

N. 2^nd St., 935: C. Group to Zecharya International Inc., $50,000

N. 2^nd St., 2135: PA Deals LLC to Heller Investments LLC, $96,400

N. 2^nd St., 2743: US Bank National Association to A. McGinley, $60,000

N. 2^nd St., 3107: S. Howell & F. Nedermeyer to P. Bernd, $114,900

N. 3^rd St., 3221: PA Deals LLC to G. & J. Modi, $145,000

N. 4^th St., 1629: GWD Capitol Heights LP to E. Harrington, $97,000

N. 5^th St., 1628, L159: M. Saavedra to Braemar Properties LLC, $111,387

N. 5^th St., 2552: M. Haubert to D. Mallek & W. Sarris, $99,900

N. 15^th St., 183 & 185: N. Gorzynski to S. & D. Fenton & Exit Realty Capital Area Property Management, $56,935

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 313: K. Schiebel to M. Hadginske, M. Pasick & A. Steel, $89,000

N. Summit St., 28: JSD Properties LLC to L. Pitts, $32,318

Rudy Rd., 2323: O. Saleh to S. Oberlin & R. Delumen, $145,000

Rumson Dr., 310: R. & P. Giordano to E. Allen, $79,000

S. 2^nd St., 304: K. Harrison to R. & C. Trimnell, $49,000

S. 3^rd St., 25: D. & J. Walker to Dewberry LLC, $350,000

S. 17^th St., 1038: C. & S. Vazquez to C. Nguyen, $66,000

S. 19^th St., 21; 2042 N. 4^th St.; 228 Boas St.; & 1901 Forster St.: R. Shokes & Shokes Enterprises LLC to JDP 2014 LLC, $327,000

S. 25^th St., 602: M. & V. Cecka to RDR Property Management LLC, $50,000

S. 27^th St., 737: N. Shrawder to R. Reyes, $80,000

S. Front St., 801: Wells Fargo Bank NA to M. Boyer, $66,000

Susquehanna St., 1606: F. Cadmus to S. Christ, $95,000

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

July News Digest

July 31, 2014 | by Lawrance Binda

Zoning Code Gets OK

Harrisburg has a new zoning code, as City Council last month approved a complete overhaul to how the city guides residential and commercial development.

Council members gave their unanimous consent to the code, the first complete update in 64 years. The new code substantially streamlines the city’s zoning map, reducing the number of base zoning districts from 27 to nine and overlay districts from six to four.

At the last minute, council made a number of changes to the code to respond to concerns voiced by several developers during a series of hearings in June. Therefore, with a special exception, a wider variety of uses now will be permitted in certain zones, including the Institutional, Commercial and Downtown Center zones.

Notably, council narrowly defeated an amendment that would have allowed the owner of the former U.S. postal facility at 815 Market St. to continue a full range of industrial uses by right. Under the new code, his property falls into the Downtown Center zone, where most industrial uses are banned.

Under a grandfather clause, businesses will be able to continue their properties’ current uses, regardless of the new zoning.

The effort to revamp the zoning code began years ago. In 2010, the council introduced a new code, but it died in committee. With several changes, the Papenfuse administration re-introduced that code earlier this year, stating that a new code was needed to move the city forward economically.

Land Bank Established

City Council last month passed legislation creating the Harrisburg Land Bank, an effort to strengthen the city’s fight against blight.

The land bank aims to take vacant, abandoned and tax delinquent properties and return them to productive use, according to the city.

A seven-member board of directors will direct the land bank, giving it the right to acquire properties before they go to judicial tax sale. The board will make such decisions as which properties to acquire, how the properties will be managed, how funds will be acquired to make purchases, and how property will be disposed of.

It also allows the city to purchase and assemble clusters of property to make them more appealing for redevelopment.

“This is a major tool in our efforts to tackle the problem of abandoned and blighted properties in our city,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “We can now proceed to refine our strategy to improve the housing stock in our city.”

HUD Funds Allotted

Harrisburg last month voted to disperse about $3 million in federal funds for housing, community and public service groups.

As it usually does, City Council made a number of changes to the administration’s recommendations on how to allot the annual funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In the end, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds went to:

Administration and Indirect Costs: $376,279
Debt Service: $335,358
Housing Rehabilitation Program: $300,000
Emergency Demolition: $295,000
Homeowner Demolition Program: $150,000
Harrisburg Fair Housing Council: $131,000
Camp Curtin YMCA: $125,000
Heinz-Menaker Senior Center: $101,209
Park Playground Equipment: $100,000
Fire Station Roof Repairs: $98,050
Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Harrisburg Area: $90,000
Code Enforcement: $69,500
Public Safety: $50,000
Christian Recovery Aftercare Ministry: $35,000
Tri-County Community Action: $25,000

Home Investment Partnerships Program funds went to:

Targeted Area Rehab/New Construction: $330,326
Homeowner Improvement Program: $200,000
Operating Expenses: $66,065
Grant Administration: $44,043

Emergency Solutions Grant Program Funds went to

Christian Churches United/H.E.L.P.: $39,765
Shalom House: $39,765
YWCA Greater Harrisburg: $39,765
Grant Administration: $9,678

The Papenfuse administration had sought $150,000 for a rental rehabilitation program. Council, though, decided to redirect that money to several groups that had been denied funding in the administration’s initial proposal.

Sinkhole Probe Launched

Harrisburg City Council last month approved hiring an engineering firm to conduct an emergency sinkhole investigation.

Camp Hill-based Gannett Fleming will perform the work, focused around the 1400-block of S. 14^th St., where several sinkholes have formed in recent months. The probe, which will employ seismic surface waves and verification drilling to develop a site map, should be completed by year-end.

The cost of the investigation will be shared with Capital Region Water. It is estimated to cost $166,000.

Trash Fees Adjusted

Harrisburg’s small business owners received some relief last month, after City Council temporarily lowered fees for trash collection.

For years, small businesses have complained that they were subject to high commercial collection rates, even though they generated little trash.

Under the new provision, small businesses will be charged the same rate as residential customers: $156 a year or $13 a month. To qualify for the lower rate, they must produce no more trash each week than can fit into two trashcans with lids.

The lower rate applies only until the end of the year. In November, the Department of Public Works will assess the impact of the reduction and report to council if it should be made permanent.

Jackson Hotel Gets Go-Ahead

The historic Jackson Hotel may be saved after all, as the Harrisburg City Council last month approved a plan that should lead to its renovation.

Council gave the OK to a land use plan that will subdivide the property at 1006 N. 6^th St. from the Jackson House restaurant next door. Decades ago, the two parcels were combined into a single lot.

With council approval, Harrisburg residents Kerry and Lessa Helm can complete the purchase of the four-story, 6,000-square-foot Victorian townhouse from Dave Kegris, the owner of Jackson House.

Kegris has owned both properties since inheriting them from German Jackson, an African-American entrepreneur whose hotel once served prominent black celebrities and other visitors to Harrisburg who were not allowed to stay in whites-only establishments.

Kegris long has run the eatery, but couldn’t afford the extensive renovations to the hotel next door, which has deteriorated badly over the years.

The Helms learned about the house by reading a story in the May 2013 issue of TheBurg. They now plan to stabilize the rundown building and begin a long-term renovation with the goal of making it their home.

Mansion Named for Eugenia Smith

The Reservoir Park mansion has been renamed in honor of Eugenia Smith, a Harrisburg city councilwoman who died suddenly in April.

The mansion now will be called The Honorable Eugenia Smith Family Life Center.

The administration originally proposed renaming the smaller Brownstone Building for Smith. However, City Council changed the resolution after Councilwoman Susan Brown-Wilson insisted that the mansion would be a more fitting tribute to Smith.

City Requests Noise Exemption

Harrisburg plans to ask the state Liquor Control Board for an exemption to its noise regulations for establishments selling alcohol downtown.

City Council last month approved a resolution authorizing the city to apply for an exemption, so that it could enforce its own noise control ordinance. Currently, downtown Harrisburg restaurants, bars and nightclubs are under both sets of regulations.

The city has asked for—and been granted—exemptions to the state’s noise ordinance several times before.

Changing Hands

Adrian St., 2449: R. & H. Dougherty to A. McKune, $51,000

Bigelow Dr., 40: Fannie Mae to G. Neff & M. Murphy, $32,000

Boas St., 209: M. Roda to V. Padilla, $112,900

Brookwood St., 2624: J. Thompson et al to K. Patel, $220,000

Capital St., 1214: E. Hoynes to J. Forbes, $99,500

Chestnut St., 2113: G. Yarnall to J. Dos Santos, $190,000

Edgewood Rd., 2312: Fannie Mae to J. Whiteman, $85,000

Hale St., 427: J. Fox to D. & C. Taylor, $55,582

Manada St., 1905: U.S. Bank NA Trustee to PA Deals LLC, $30,000

Market St., 1317, 1321: W. & N. Schubauer to S. Betz, $440,000

N. 2^nd St., 902: J. Salvemini & D. Vitale to L. & S. Freeman, $147,000

N. 2^nd St., 1303: PA Deals LLC to D. Reinhart, $95,000

N. 2^nd St., 2644: M. Ventresca to D. Castle, $250,000

N. 4^th St., 2250: R. & T. Ruiz to Equity Trust Co. Custodian Linda Dean IRA, $39,000

N. 4^th St., 3108: P. Purdy to E. & C. Thomas, $122,000

N. 7^th St., 2712: PA Deals LLC to Merrick Solo 401K Trust, $57,000

N. 15^th St., 1309: R. Floyd et al to M. Gabrielle, $47,000

N. 17^th St., 88; 1150 Mulberry St.; 2332 N. 6^th St.; 2519 N. 6^th St.; 2308 Jefferson St.; 448 Hamilton St.; & 612, 613, 614, 616, 617, 619 Oxford St.: Redevelopment Authority of Harrisburg to SMKP Properties, $327,273

N. 7^th St., 3205 & 3133: K. & J. Rust to Bass Pallets Realty LLC, $240,112

N. 17^th St., 1007: Wells Fargo Bank NA to J. Mosley, $60,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 610: M. & C. Heppenstall to M. Hadginske, $80,000

N. Front St., 2901: M. Knackstedt to R. Edwards, $395,000

N. Front St., 2909 & 2917: M. Knackstedt to M. & S. Wilson, $361,000

Penn St., 1105: Fannie Mae to G. Knight, $40,000

Penn St., 2334: E. Stawitz to A. Yates, $83,000

Pennwood Rd., 3214: 360 Home Services LLC et al to CNC Realty LLC, $100,000

S. 17^th St., 1701: J. & H. Garcia to Niel Real Estate Investments LLC, $225,000

S. 27^th St., 634: A. & S. Velez to S. Moore, $55,000

Susquehanna St., 1709: G. & D. West to A. Fortune, $108,000

Susquehanna St., 1910: R. McLean to WCI Partners LP, $87,500

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