Tag Archives: WCI Partners

More apartments headed for downtown Harrisburg, as developer plans project blitz

September 22, 2020 | by M. Diane McCormick

These long-time office buildings at 122-124 State St. are slated to become apartments.

Developer Derek Dilks stands to significantly expand his Harrisburg footprint, as the city Zoning Hearing Board has approved his plans to convert historic properties on State Street and Front Street into apartments.

During a virtual meeting on Monday night, the board approved special exceptions to transform two State Street buildings into “multifamily dwellings”:

122-124 State St. into three apartment units.
130 State St. into five apartment units, including a first-floor live-work unit. Dilks agreed to designate an accompanying lot for tenant parking.

130 State St. in Harrisburg.

Before the Zoom meeting, Dilks withdrew from the agenda yet another office-to-residential proposal for six apartment units up the block at 223 State St. Dilks later said that he is discussing the project with the neighboring Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association and expects to resubmit to the zoning board in October.

Zoning board members split on two other projects, proposed for Front Street, that Dilks brought before them on Monday:

25 N. Front St. The board approved eight apartment units, including first-floor office space, along historic Governor’s Row.
321 N. Front St. Dilks received a continuance until the board’s Oct. 19 meeting after two members objected to the inclusion of only four parking spaces for the nine units proposed.

The city Planning Commission has already approved all the projects, citing the revitalization of historically and architecturally significant buildings, plus the injection of residents to enliven downtown on nights and weekends.

25 N. Front St. in Harrisburg

Dilks expects State Street construction to begin this fall, with completion in spring 2021. The more extensive Front Street projects require City Council approval, and he projects their completion in summer or fall 2021.

Dilks owns several other buildings in Harrisburg, including the Lofts at 909, an apartment building in the former Boas Street School at Green and Forster streets.

At the virtual meeting on Monday, several State Street neighbors, mostly attorneys, balked at what they claimed could be parking constraints and traffic congestion along their storied avenue.

“Those of us who have invested here, who have worked very, very hard to create a street that has become the heart of the legal, lobbying, government affairs community of this city want to maintain that,” said Charlie Gerow, CEO of Quantum Communications. “We’ve all invested significant money, significant time, significant effort into that. We’re here every day. We work here every day. Our money is at play here every single day. Granting relief downgrades all of our properties, and by extension, the city itself.”

Dilks conceded that a first-floor professional office at 122 State St. would be acceptable, but he told the board that he and Harrisburg-based architect Chris Dawson were “simply seeking to utilize these buildings to the highest and best use.”

“It’s going to be the same staircase, the same restoring to its original historic character,” he said. “The new use, whether it’s two people there, watching TV, having dinner, or whether it’s two people there practicing law or having a meeting—we’re not increasing the density.”

321 N. Front St. in Harrisburg

At 321 N. Front St., the former Clark Resources building, Dilks promised to address the parking shortage for that office-to-residential conversion by encouraging tenants to use parking garages, but board Chairman Thomas Leonard and member Aaron Holt were not persuaded. On the other hand, board member Shannon Gority saw a fit with contemporary lifestyles.

“I understand your concern with parking,” she told Leonard. “But I also am aware of a shift in the way people are living nowadays with respect to modes of transportation or the lack thereof.”

Dilks later said that he would return in October with an acceptable parking plan. At that meeting, he also expects to submit a plan for conversion of the former First United Methodist Church at 260 Boas St. in Midtown into six apartment units, possibly including a bakery. Dilks bought that property, one of the many Harrisburg-area UMC churches put up for sale last year, in late July for $99,000.

The former First United Methodist Church on Boas Street

With Mowery Construction owner and President David Cross, Dilks also is co-developer and equity partner for Schoolhouse Flats, the conversion of the former Lemoyne Middle School into 46 apartments.

State Street will see yet more change, as the Zoning Hearing Board on Monday night also approved WCI Partners’ proposal to create a takeout café adjoining the Little Amps coffee shop at State and N. 2nd streets.

Little Amps plans a takeout cafe in this building next to their location at N. 2nd and State streets.

Customers would use a separate entrance to buy from an expanded menu of food items prepared in a new kitchen shared by the two spaces. On the two floors above the takeout café, WCI Partners would create two new apartments and renovate a third.

Disclosure: Alex Hartzler, co-publisher of TheBurg, is a principal with WCI Partners.

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Big Days for Zeroday: Harrisburg brewer expanding, opening restaurant, event space

February 29, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Co-owner Theo Armstrong stands in the future space of the new Zeroday Taproom in Midtown Harrisburg.

Five years ago, when Zeroday Brewing Co. opened its Midtown brewery and tasting room, the owners placed a framed picture behind the bar.

It’s an old, black-and-white photo of Fink Brewing Co., located for many years at Forster and James streets in Harrisburg.

Well, sometimes, beer history works in very mysterious ways.

Soon, Zeroday itself will be brewing beer nearly on the exact site where, for decades, Henry Fink and his sons produced more than 20,000 barrels a year, before Prohibition knocked the stuffing out of their business.

In early summer, the Harrisburg-based brewer will open the Zeroday Taproom on the 900-block of N. 3^rd Street, across a narrow alley from the old Fink brewery, which, in the height of alcohol ironies, is now the site of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

Why the new space? According to co-owner Theo Armstrong, the craft brewing industry has changed a lot in recent years. Today, customers don’t just want better, more flavorful and local beer. They want it all: great beer, great food and a great place for a party.

That’s what Armstrong intends to offer as Zeroday opens its full-service brewery/eatery near the state Capitol complex.

“The newer craft breweries are opening as full-service restaurants,” he said. “Now that the industry is more advanced, that’s what people are embracing.”

Armstrong said that he’s seen this trend develop ever since he opened Zeroday’s existing tasting room on Reily Street in back of Midtown Cinema.

At first, Zeroday offered only bar snacks such as big pretzels and meat-and-cheese plates. Pizza came next, and, now, you can get a sandwich and soup there.

However, those were incremental steps that didn’t go far enough, he said. People increasingly wanted a full menu to accompany his award-winning craft beer.

Therefore, he and his business partners were open to new options when they learned that WCI Partners was looking for an anchor retail tenant for an apartment building they purchased last year.

Negotiations ensued and, recently, Zeroday’s owners—Armstrong, John Tierney and Matt Tunnell—signed a lease for the currently gutted, 5,000-square-foot, first-floor retail space at 925 N. 3^rd St.

The location will give Zeroday more than twice the customer space, with room for a full-sized kitchen, a larger bar, tables, three fireplaces, comfortable seating areas, a cold storage room and a three-barrel pilot system for small-batch brews. The site offers two other key amenities—a separate room that can be closed off for private parties and a courtyard for sitting outside when the weather’s warm.

And expect the food to be good, too. Zeroday is partnering with downtown neighbor Cork & Fork to bring a Mexican and tapas-inspired menu to 3^rd Street.

“We want to be a meeting place for the community,” Armstrong said. “We want to be Midtown’s living room.”

The exterior of the future Zeroday Taproom on the 900-block of N. 3rd Street.

Zeroday will retain its space in back of Midtown Cinema, dedicating the entire 3,000 square feet to beer production. According to Armstrong, the company will need it.

Yes, Zeroday expects to sell a lot more suds at its new, full-service restaurant, but the company also plans to expand retail operations, complete with a new canning line. In addition, the owners have designs to open two other locations.

First off, Midtown Cinema, as part of its major renovation, is converting its front lounge area into a Zeroday Outpost with a 10-seat bar and additional tables. Therefore, the company will retain a central Midtown location for folks who consider the current, Reily Street brewery to be their neighborhood bar, as well as allow movie patrons to stroll into the theater with a pint.

An exterior rendering of the Midtown Cinema renovation, which has started

And Armstrong has something special for you suburbanites, too.

Zeroday is partnering on a restaurant concept with the owners of the former ShakeDown BBQ. It will open in 2021 in Susquehanna Union Green, a mixed-used town center development under construction at Linglestown Road and Progress Avenue in Susquehanna Township, Armstrong said.

Nonetheless, Zeroday’s heart will always be in Midtown Harrisburg. That’s where they got their start and where, soon, they will have three locations: the Zeroday Taproom on 3^rd Street, the Zeroday Outpost at Midtown Cinema and the Zeroday Outpost in the Broad Street Market.

“I’m confident that the 3^rd Street launch will help us be a better part of the community,” Armstrong said. “Speaking as a business owner, we want everyone to be welcome.”

For more information about Zeroday Brewing Co., visit their website.

Disclosure: Alex Hartzler, a principal with WCI Partners, is co-publisher of TheBurg.

Burg Blog: Historic Credits

February 28, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

The long-shuttered Swallow Mansion in Harrisburg is currently under restoration.

As it does each year, Historic Harrisburg Association this past week presented its “Preservation Priority” list.

This is a summary of some of the Harrisburg area’s most threatened structures, and many of the buildings on the 2020 list should come as no surprise to anyone who cares about historic preservation locally.

On it, you’ll find such notable structures as the J. Donald Cameron Mansion (up for sale), the Riverside Firehouse (slated to be sold), several abandoned churches and a few structures, victims of negligent owners, that may be lost forever if not shored up soon (among them, the pre-Civil War Balsley House downtown and the former Gerber’s Department Store—aka the “Carpets and Draperies” building—in Midtown).

The old Harrisburg Moose Lodge, now the home of StartUp Harrisburg and Union Lofts

Each year, HHA uses this list to make the public aware of the area’s historic heritage crumbling around them—and maybe even hold owners’ collective feet to the fire.

But I’d like to use this blog post to highlight something else. In its presentation, further down, following the bad news, there is this—hope.

HHA lists a section called “prior listings,” which consists mostly of buildings that have been preserved or are otherwise no longer threatened.

The fully restored North Street building, which now houses Elementary Coffee Co. and apartments

I think it’s important to highlight the buildings that have been saved and the people who have done the expensive, hard work, often against the odds and against financial logic, to preserve them. It wasn’t long ago that these buildings were endangered.

So, an enormous thanks to:

Mike and Sally Wilson, who transformed the decrepit Mary Sachs and Hull mansions into the stunning Manor on Front Bed & Breakfast
Chris and Erica Bryce, who restored the General Henry and Elizabeth Gross Mansion next door to Manor on Front
Harristown Development, which saved the old Fox Hotel/Santanna’s Restaurant, turning it into a boutique apartment building
Vice Capital/LeRon and LeSean McCoy, who are finishing up a total restoration of the Swallow Mansion on N. 6^th Street
WCI Partners, which restored the boarded up former Moose Lodge and several commercial buildings on the 900-block of N. 3^rd Street
Matt Krupp and Harrisburg Commercial Interiors for saving and rebuilding two North Street buildings that now house Elementary Coffee Co. with apartments upstairs.

The Bridge, the former Bishop McDevitt High School

And, as they say, the best is yet to come.

This year, The Bridge plans to begin to transform the old Bishop McDevitt High School into co-working space and an “eco village,” Matt Long/Harrisburg Commercial Interiors has received permission to begin work restoring the Jackson Rooming House, and andCulture is completing a restoration of the Old Waterworks on Front Street.

There’s also hope that, this year, the Harrisburg school district may finally sell the William Penn building and property and that the Zembo Shrine building will change hands and find a new use.

Lastly, a million thanks to David Morrison, Jeb Stuart, Calobe Jackson and everyone at HHA for reminding this community of its historic heritage—and how important it is to preserve it.

To learn more about Historic Harrisburg Association, visit their website.

Subject for Abate: Harrisburg’s mixed tax abatement program seems to be yielding mixed results.

August 31, 2017 | by M. Diane McCormick

What if they gave a LERTA and nobody came?

Just ask one would-be, first-time developer who wants to build a three-apartment, net-zero energy building in Midtown Harrisburg. This resident, who asked to remain anonymous as he works with the city to realize his dream, hasn’t even found his tract to develop. His extensive research is ongoing, but one big question lingers.

Can he afford the project?

The answer hinges, in part, on a tax abatement program called LERTA.

In mid-2016, Harrisburg’s Local Economic Revitalization Tax Abatement (LERTA), meant to encourage development, went into effect. Since then, the 10-year property tax break seems to have helped spur the rehab of small, existing residential properties. However, few developers have applied the abatement to new or commercial construction.

That’s because Harrisburg’s abatement scheme is two-tier, with stricter requirements for commercial and new-build projects than for residential renovations. These commercial projects come with certain prevailing wage, residency and minority ownership requirements that apply to the workforce and contractors.

Has the tradeoff been worth it? Some say no, but others argue for more time to let the magic work.

LERTA What?

LERTA has been a Pennsylvania mainstay since 1977. Put simply, it allows counties, municipalities and school districts to waive taxes on the increased value of improved properties in distressed areas. It’s simple, really. If you significantly rehab a blighted house or build a new home or business in a city, you keep paying taxes on the property’s old assessed value—not the new, improved value—for the time period established in that city’s LERTA.

But why have a LERTA and give up all that extra tax revenue? LERTA is supposed to act as an incentive because, otherwise, development may not happen at all. That’s especially true in a city such as Harrisburg, which is forced to impose very high tax rates to compensate for low property values. Waive the taxes on improved value for a time, and LERTA may make a project financially feasible.

Until 2010, Harrisburg had a phased-in LERTA, giving tax abatements in increments that decreased by 10 percent annually for 10 years. The 2016 version awarded 100-percent tax abatement for 10 years for residential construction and improvements. Commercial construction and improvements, plus much mixed-use commercial/residential, qualify for abatements of 50 percent to 100 percent for 10 years, depending on the mix of uses and the number of jobs created.

Any new construction—residential or commercial—seeking to qualify must employ 15 percent minority businesses and a 15 percent city-resident workforce and pay the same prevailing wage rates set by the state for many construction projects. Depending on whom you ask, prevailing wage can add 2 percent to the cost of a project or 30 percent. Some even say 50 percent.

The ample, 10-year generosity of the 2016 LERTA is meant to offset those higher costs. Reviews are mixed. Dave Black, the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC executive director, pointed out that the state law is three pages, while the city’s ordinance is 18. But he gave city administration and City Council “a tip of the hat” for the attempt.

“It’s all about a balancing, which makes governing challenging,” Black said. “Under the circumstances, it’s a small step forward. Sometimes, you’ve got to take small steps.”

Harristown Enterprises has used the LERTA for three residential conversion projects on S. 3rd Street. More are in the works, especially since much of Harristown’s focus is on residential housing, said Harristown Enterprises President and CEO Brad Jones, who called LERTA “an attractive incentive.” Most developers would have preferred aggressive, 10-year abatements, but Jones said he understand the politics behind it.

“These were conditions that allowed the bill to pass,” he said. “I still believe we can work with the ordinance.”

Jones admits to being “a little more optimistic” than most others. For instance, some new condos have been slow to sell, but apply a LERTA to their development, and the price per square foot becomes more enticing to buyers.

Level the Field

Reinvestment may be on the urban revitalization agenda, but high tax rates plus increased assessment equals a tough development environment.

“Capital doesn’t want to come back in and rebuild and be taxed four times what they’d pay in the surrounding municipality,” said David Butcher, president of Harrisburg-based WCI Partners.

Plus, he added, LERTA doesn’t make taxes cheaper, as the city receives the same tax revenue as before the improvements were made. But, he said, LERTA allows the city to tax projects on a scale similar to other municipalities, where millage rates are lower.

“It’s leveling the playing field, but it’s not tilting it,” he said. “The playing field is so unlevel already.”

For developers, any money made goes into the next project, and returns are projected years into the future, said Jones.

“We don’t need to make grand returns, but we need to build capacity to bring in new investors, and, obviously, more investors are going to come if the returns are a little better,” he said. “As we build more capacity, as we do more with residential and more with commercial, the environment’s going to get better and better, the rates will get better and better, and they’re going to build the capacity to bring in new investors and new developers, and that’s our goal. We don’t want to do this all ourselves.”

A Killer

Our friend who wants to construct a zero-energy building is very concerned about climate change and global warming.

One thing that’s really green, he said, is urban infill development—finding a lot and building where the infrastructure already exists. He believes the future belongs, at least in part, to micro-developers like him. But just like the big guys, he has costs for designing, planning and layers of municipal approvals.

A LERTA could help offset those costs. He thinks he “can survive” with the minority participation requirement, and the city-resident mandate is “another burden,” especially because net-zero construction requires specialized skills.

And then there’s “the part that’s a killer—prevailing wage,” he said. “That is the showstopper, I believe. I don’t know if I believe the 30-percent number. I don’t know if I believe the 2 percent, either. It’s probably something in the middle.”

So, are the conditions of Harrisburg’s LERTA a speed bump on the road to redevelopment? They “could very well be,” said Black. “Mega projects” in the city are rare, and small contractors or projects, especially, could struggle to fill their labor rolls with the requisite number of city residents.

For WCI, the city’s former, stepped-up LERTA “was critical” to completing an office building at 2nd and State streets, said Butcher. Any new restaurant or apartments in a slow-growth city seem like a demonstration of capital flowing in, but “what people are missing is everything going on outside the city,” he said.

In other words, the many developers who built in the suburbs could have located their projects in the city, but made a conscious decision not to.

“It’s what you don’t see,” he said. “What is excluded is the more powerful thing.”

Counterproductive

The city of Lancaster didn’t consider prevailing wage or workforce conditions, a la Harrisburg, for its LERTA, said Director of Economic Development and Neighborhood Revitalization Randy Patterson.

“The challenge of ‘making the numbers work’ for redevelopment projects in cities is already challenging,” Patterson said via email. “One piece of that is the significantly higher total property tax rates for most cities compared to surrounding townships with greenfields available for development. Adding additional conditions to receive LERTA benefits that may impact total project costs may be counterproductive.”

Philadelphia, once in the same boat as Harrisburg with high millage rates and low property values, installed a condition-free LERTA, and the city is “booming,” said Butcher.

“It used to be dead,” he said. “Now, you walk down Walnut Street or Broad Street, and it’s hot. We asked around about the key ingredients, and the number-one thing was full abatement.”

City officials originally agreed to speak for this story but stopped responding to requests to schedule an interview. Nonetheless, developers give high marks to city officials, including Charlie White, the LERTA administrator, for outreach and communications.

“They called me to talk about projects,” said Harristown’s Jones. “I said, ‘You know what? You’re right. We should absolutely be in this program.’”

For other developers, help can arrive in the form of sitting down with White and realizing, as they explain their projects, that “there is a way to use this program to their advantage.” The provisions may be challenging, Jones said, but “the city’s working hard to try to get more applicants in the pool. I think the program can be successful.”

Lot of Energy

In Harrisburg, LERTA’s condition-free segment encouraging residential renovation “is really powerful,” said WCI’s Butcher. “We have used it. It will help drive renovation in the city, which is nothing but a good thing.”

But new construction and commercial projects are unlikely “unless they have some subsidy measure,” he said. Few expect amendments any time soon.

“I don’t think the mayor is ready for that yet—the political dynamics, the amount of arrows you have to take,” he said. “Taking that fight on takes a lot of energy.”

Perhaps a year or three of data will help City Council and the administration determine if the LERTA has delivered reinvestment, said the chamber’s Black. If not, “are there things we should tweak?”

“I’d like to see them monitor it and try to look and try to simplify it, if possible,” he said. “But there’s other considerations they have on their plate.”

Harrisburg’s LERTA administrator can be reached at 717-255-7268. Some information is available on the city’s website, www.harrisburgpa.gov.

Disclosure: Alex Hartzler, publisher of TheBurg, is a principal with WCI Partners.

Author: M. Diane McCormick

Bigger Duck Pond: Downtown Improvement District seeks renewal, expansion.

July 8, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Under an expansion plan, State Street would become part of the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District.

What a difference a couple of years can make.

The last time the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District (HDID) was up for renewal, the city government put the nonprofit through the wringer—and on a short leash.

This year? Smooth sailing.

“I’m impressed with what you’ve done,” City Council President Wanda Williams told Executive Director Todd Vander Woude during a hearing last week. “You’ve done good work.”

The HDID is seeking a five-year reauthorization of the district, which expires at year-end. In 2015, council refused to grant a full, five-year term, offering only two years with instructions to become more visible and active. Back then, some council members—along with several business owners—said that HDID wasn’t doing enough to attract people downtown and make it more of a destination.

Given the positive reaction of council, it appears—mission accomplished.

During the hearing, Vander Woude outlined a few recent highlights: last year’s “Dino-Mite Summer” public art project, this year’s “Discover the Ducks Downtown,” the St. Patrick’s Day parade and run, several new murals, more bike racks, brightly painted planters, a new safety substation.

“Our focus is making downtown clean, safe and beautiful,” he said.

Getting firm council support is particularly important this year, as the HDID is seeking to expand its northern boundary from Pine Street to State Street, bringing 58 more properties into the district and upping the organization’s annual budget by $40,000 to $820,000. Each commercial property is assessed a 1.75 mil surcharge on its city property taxes to cover the cost of HDID services, which also include cleaning, safety and beautification measures.

Property owners within the proposed district have 45 days from last week’s council hearing to vote against the district. Forty percent of properties within the boundary must vote against it for reauthorization to be defeated.

This summer’s “Discover the Ducks Downtown” is one of many recent projects spearheaded by the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District.

With three properties on State Street, WCI Partners will have to kick in an extra $10,000 in annual tax, representing one-quarter of the total revenue for new properties in the expanded territory, said company President Dave Butcher. Nonetheless, he supports the proposal, as State Street, he said, is one of the most visited and photographed streets in the city.

“It’s helpful because we’ll have long-term institutional support for the (State Street) median in maintaining it and keeping it beautiful,” said Butcher, a member of the HDID board.

Currently, Butcher passes the hat among his fellow State Street property owners to help maintain the two-block long, landscaped median that runs from Riverfront Park to the state Capitol building. If its boundaries are extended, HDID will maintain the median, while also offering street cleanup, planters, flowers and other benefits.

Despite the proposed expansion, at last week’s meeting, no property owners told council that they object to the plan. Council President Williams made the only critical remark, pleading with the HDID to do what it can to bring retail back to downtown Harrisburg.

Vander Woude was optimistic. Over the past few years, several developers have converted worn-out office buildings into high-end residential space, and there’s now a waiting list for those apartments.

“I’m hopeful that, with the residential growth downtown, retail will follow,” he said.

To learn more about the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District, visit www.harrisburgdid.com.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Wheels Free: With new apartments and growing amenities in Harrisburg, some residents have parked their cars permanently.

December 30, 2016 | by M. Diane McCormick

When Brett Comeau moved from Los Angeles to downtown Harrisburg to start a business and close the gap in a long-distance romance, he resisted giving up his wheels to join his girlfriend in her carless existence. Give it a month, she suggested.

“Within a month, I said, ‘I don’t ever want to own a car again,’” he said now, four years later. “It’s so much easier. The stress-freeness of it. I don’t have to drive through traffic.”

As the revitalized city offers new living and entertainment options, a new breed of urban dweller is attempting—and succeeding at—the carless life. They are walking, biking, busing, train-riding and Uber-ing to their destinations.

Oh, and some are keeping their personal vehicles but only for occasional use. We’ll get to them in a minute.

Of course, cities have long been home to residents who don’t own cars. In Harrisburg in 2015, the U.S. Census Bureau tells us, 3,266 people age 16 and over didn’t have a vehicle for getting to work. They commuted by bus, foot, bicycle, taxicab and carpooling.

For most people, though, the thought of ditching the car is akin to cutting off a limb. Car ownership, we’ve grown up believing, is equivalent to freedom. But the return of upscale amenities to the city—dining, entertainment and rehabbed housing—has inspired more professionals to throw away the car keys, or at least, give the car long rests between rides. In the process, they’ve discovered a new form of freedom—an escape from the tyranny of the motorized machine.

No Place Like That

Several new, upscale apartment buildings opened last year, offering more living options in walkable downtown and Midtown Harrisburg. Of all the new (and old) buildings there, The Flats @ Strawberry Square may make the strongest case for the carless curious.

The units link directly, through an indoor walkway, to the Hilton Harrisburg, restaurants, Open Stage and Whitaker Center, in addition to the many shops and eateries in Strawberry Square itself.

“You don’t even have to go outside if you don’t want to,” said Brad Jones, president and CEO of Harristown Enterprises, which developed the building. “If you do go outside, you’re a block or two from another 35 or 40 restaurant establishments. There’s no place like that in central Pennsylvania.”

WCI Partners, busy rehabbing homes and apartments, finds that walkability attracts residents. City dwellers “generally want to live in the city to have easy access to restaurants, parks, shopping, theater, community involvement,” said Vice President, Director of Operations Lori A. Fortini.

When it comes to walkability and building community, “one feeds the other,” said Fortini, whose company recently opened the 33-unit Union Lofts building at N. 3rd and Boas streets.

“It’s a bounce back and forth,” she said. “The more you commute outside of the car, the more you are aware of your surroundings and able to connect with them. At the same time, that creates the safety to do that.”

As Comeau noted, spending goes where wallets go, and being carless, he and his girlfriend, Linda Walters, keep their wallets close to home.

“Linda and I spend about 90 percent of our money on local businesses,” he said. “We are part of this community.”

Spinning Wheels

ChuChi and Shadow inspired Scott Foulkrod to adopt a daily walking life.

The Harrisburg University professor had no one who could take the two small dogs for walks every few hours. So, he moved into a luxury apartment rehabbed by Vartan Group on Pine Street, just blocks from his workplace.

Always an outdoorsy type, Foulkrod “fell into the routine pretty quickly” of walking back and forth between home and work a couple of times a day. He also walks to downtown events and restaurants.

“It’s a simple way to live,” he said.

It’s a living arrangement that could change with a move to the country someday, but, for the time being, “It seemed like a no-brainer.”

Foulkrod didn’t entirely abandon the car—“a car I really like, a nice car.” His Audi TT convertible stays garaged for much of the time but comes out for grocery runs and getaways.

Like Foulkrod, Ian Kanski has a car but, most days, keeps it parked in a nearby lot since moving to Harristown’s Fifteen at Twenty-Two, or F@TT, apartments on S. 3rd Street in September. The apartment is across the street from his business, Integrated Agriculture Systems, the folks behind the hydroponic and aquaponic systems increasingly seen in schools.

“I couldn’t resist the opportunity to live right next to where we were putting our office,” he said. “It’s great for me to walk to meetings downtown.”

The car is handy for out-of-town meetings and driving to his company’s Susquehanna Township facility, but often, he takes the train to meetings in Philadelphia and New York. Even travel to Costa Rica, where his wife is from, is simplified by proximity to Harrisburg Transportation Center’s Amtrak station, for rides directly to Newark Airport.

“I get my baggage, walk over to the train station, and get to another country without getting into a car,” he said.

Asked if he doesn’t miss having a firewall between work and home, Kanski laughed. He gets that question a lot, it seems.

“Being in a startup, it’s hard to separate those two things, anyway,” he said. “In the startup world, work follows you anywhere. That’s inevitable.”

I’m Done

The freedom of carlessness, it seems, comes from making the car work around your life—not the other way around. Comeau said that he’s no longer “tempted to go somewhere for no reason.”

The hardest part of the adjustment, he said, was learning to plan ahead, but routine makes the lifestyle run smoothly. Groceries come from walks to the Broad Street Market or are delivered by Giant Food’s Peapod service. If he and Walters rent a car for some purpose, for a weekend every two or three months, they think of everything they need that a car facilitates and “cram everything in.”

About six months ago, to adopt a cat named Kinsey, Comeau and Walters rented a car, picked her up, bought all the food, took her home to their WCI apartment on Walnut Street, and, while she was adjusting, drove around for things that included a Troeg’s Brewery tour in Hershey.

“By Monday, when we dropped the car off, I said, ‘I’m exhausted. I’m done,’” he said.

Walters, the girlfriend who converted Comeau to carlessness, has always lived and worked along bus routes. The natural-born organizer knows all the routes and uses Capital Area Transit (CAT) updates to follow the progress of her buses. If a bus is late, she calls Uber to get her to work, “because Uber is pretty quick,” Comeau said.

“When she’s on the bus, she listens to podcasts, she listens to notes, she listens to books on tape, as opposed to having to drive and get all stressed out by traffic,” he said. “She just zones out and gets to do her thing, and she really enjoys that.”

Comeau and Walters hope that Zipcar comes soon to Harrisburg to replace their occasional car rental needs. Zipcar media relations did not return an email asking if Harrisburg is in their sights.

Great, Walkable

Like Walters, some who go carless find a transportation assist from the bus system. According to Jones, CAT and Harristown “have a long working relationship.”

“Service to various parts of the region are pretty good in this area, especially if you’re in the center,” he said. “You could literally go to 50 different locations by bus—Hershey, Hummelstown, Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Holy Spirit. The new Pinnacle hospital now has a service. You can cover a lot of ground by bus.”

Many of CAT’s 10,000 daily riders don’t have cars, said CAT spokesman Bob Philbin. “Anyone living in Harrisburg can move from point A to point B within the city within about 30 minutes,” he said.

New routes include a loop from Shipoke to the Capitol and 2nd Street, and, at lunchtime, it expands to the Broad Street Market “so we can move that lunch crowd around the city apart from downtown,” he said.

Recently adopted bus tracker software lets riders check the CAT website to see their buses en route, with a separate link for mobile phones. CAT’s Twitter feed notifies users of delays. There’s no app due to the challenges of aligning ever-evolving bus routes with Google maps, Philbin said.

“We’re constantly evaluating routes in and out of Harrisburg and around Harrisburg,” he said. “The system was built with Harrisburg at its core.”

Harrisburg is not only a walkable city but a bikeable one. Therefore, some residents have replaced the auto through a combination of bike and bus. In fact, riders bringing bicycles to rack on buses have risen 10 percent to 15 percent, year over year, to reach the current level of about 15,000 annually, Philbin said.

So far, at least, Kanski, whose new home is above El Sol restaurant, hasn’t had to hop the bus much. He walks almost everywhere he needs to go.

“There’s good, diverse cuisine,” Kanski said. “There’s great arts and culture happening in Harrisburg as a whole. Everything is pretty close. It’s a great, walkable city.”

Disclosure: Alex Hartzler, a WCI Partners principal, is publisher of TheBurg.

Author: M. Diane McCormick

September News Digest

September 30, 2016 | by Lawrance Binda

Courthouse Clears Hurdle

A proposed new federal courthouse for Harrisburg took a significant step forward last month, as a Congressional panel approved funding for the project.

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta said the House Infrastructure and Transportation Committee approved full funding for the $194.4 million courthouse at N. 6th and Reily streets. Congress has already appropriated about $55 million for land acquisition, feasibility studies and design.

“This has been a long time coming, with various baby steps along the way, but now the Harrisburg courthouse will finally become a reality,” Barletta said in a statement.

The full House and Senate still must pass a final bill appropriating the money, but Barletta spokesman Tim Murtaugh called House committee approval the greatest obstacle.

“This was the major hurdle,” he said.

After many years of searching, the federal government selected the Midtown site in 2010, acquiring the land and razing a few old buildings. However, the site has sat empty since, as the project has awaited funds for construction.

Barletta said that he had re-considered the scope of the project, perhaps in favor of an annex to the existing federal courthouse downtown. However, he finally agreed that a new facility was needed.

The 243,000-square-foot building will contain as many as eight courtrooms, including three for district judges, two for senior district judges, two for magistrate judges and one for bankruptcy judges. The plan also calls for about 43 parking spaces.

Assuming that Congress appropriates the money, several years will likely pass before construction begins. Earlier this year, the U.S. General Services Administration released a priority list for new courthouses and annexes around the country, putting eight other projects ahead of Harrisburg’s.

Sinkhole Money Secured

Harrisburg last month secured nearly $1.7 million in federal funds to help remediate a sinkhole-ravaged stretch along the 1400-block of S. 14^th Street.

In its award letter, the Federal Emergency Management Agency specified that

Harrisburg must provide $550,000 in matching funds, which may come from other grants the city hopes to receive for the project.

The city envisions acquiring and tearing down 52 homes along the block. It then would fill in the sinkhole-prone area with backfill and soil, before turning it into permanent green space.

This was the second time that the city attempted to secure FEMA funds. Last year, the agency turned down the city’s request, directing money for sinkhole remediation to Palmyra. Harrisburg then asked FEMA to reconsider its project, which resulted in the award.

Giant sinkholes began opening up on the block in March 2014, making many of the houses uninhabitable and the remainder virtually worthless.

Council Weighs Market Contract

The Broad Street Market took a step towards a long-awaited restructuring last month, as City Council held a hearing that could lead Harrisburg’s historic market to become a nonprofit entity.

Most council members seemed to favor the proposal, which would permit a new nonprofit called the Broad Street Market Alliance, to enter into a lease agreement with the city, which owns the 150-year-old market. The lease would run for five years with an option for a 10-year extension.

Under the agreement, the city would rent the two market buildings for $1 a year to the nonprofit, which then would be responsible for maintenance and repairs. Under this structure, the market would be eligible to apply for numerous grants reserved for nonprofits and also could raise money, said market Manager Beth Taylor, who estimates the buildings have $1.5 to $2 million in deferred maintenance and capital improvement costs.

Currently, the market operates within a complex structure, in which the city owns the market, but the for-profit Broad Street Market Corp. manages it under the supervision of the Historic Harrisburg Association. The city also charges $1 per year in rent, but is obligated to pay for maintenance and improvements.

Under the restructuring, the alliance would have a 13-member board, and its efforts would be supplemented by the creation of a new support and fundraising group called Friends of the Broad Street Market.

At press time, council had not scheduled a final vote on the lease agreement.

Midtown Project Receives Funds

A key renovation project in Midtown Harrisburg is expected to move rapidly to completion, as the state announced last month that it will release funding to help finish the block-long historic rehabilitation at N. 3rd and Boas streets.

In a press conference, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that the developer, WCI Partners, will receive $3.5 million from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, a state initiative that focuses on culturally and historically significant projects.

“We’re going to make sure that this project works, that courageous, hard-working people succeed,” said Wolf, who praised WCI for taking a risk to restore the long-vacant properties along the 900-block of N. 3rd Street.

The $8 million project consists of four buildings—the historic Harrisburg Moose Lodge Temple and three smaller townhouses, as well as a large parking lot.

WCI acquired the properties last year for $900,000 from Atlanta-based Mosaica Education, which had operated the Ron Brown Charter School there for five years. After its charter was not renewed, the school shut down in 2005, and the buildings have sat empty and increasingly dilapidated.

The 92-year-old, 38,000-square-foot former Moose Lodge opened last month as a fully renovated, mixed-use building consisting of 33 one-bedroom apartments and commercial space. The 6,500-square-foot ground floor is occupied by st@rtup Harrisburg, a city-based co-working space.

WCI Principal Alex Hartzler said that much of the RACP money will go towards finishing the project, especially the renovation of the three townhouses.

The back portions of the townhouses were chopped off years ago to expand the Ron Brown School’s parking lot and provide a play area. However, the long-empty buildings were not properly sealed, resulting in extensive water and infrastructure damage, Hartzler said.

More than 100 years ago, the townhouses were constructed with commercial space on the ground floors and apartments upstairs. WCI will return them to this mixed-use format, and TheBurg plans to occupy the ground floor space of two of the townhouses, which should be ready for occupancy early next year.

The state had not released RACP money since 2014. Several other Harrisburg-area groups, include Gamut Theatre Group and the Harrisburg City Islanders, have applied for funds. Wolf said funding for other projects would be announced soon.

Disclosure: Alex Hartzler is publisher of TheBurg.

Treasurer Criticizes Report

Harrisburg Treasurer Dan Miller last month gave a generally unfavorable assessment of a report that criticized the operations of the city treasurer’s office.

Before City Council, Miller said that the report, drafted by consultant Alvarez & Marsal, was correct in some of its conclusions, but incorrect in others. For instance, the report stated that the department lacked written procedures and policies, which, Miller said, was not true.

The report became controversial earlier this year when city Controller Charles DeBrunner made it public over the objections of Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who said its release was premature and unwise.

The city contracted with Alvarez & Marsal after former Treasurer John Campbell resigned following his arrest on theft charges not related to his city position. The report found no wrongdoing by Campbell as treasurer, but pointedly criticized how the office was run.

This was Miller’s first significant appearance before council since he was named treasurer in June to fill the unexpired term of former Treasurer Tyrell Spradley, who resigned the post.

“I have complete confidence in the city Treasury Department and operations,” Miller told City Council.

Home Sales Jump

Harrisburg-area home sales increased significantly in August, rising by 21 percent from the year-ago period.

Homes sales totaled 947 units compared to 783 units in August 2015, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors.

The median price rose to $169,900 from $165,000 in the prior year, said GHAR.

In Dauphin County, 311 homes sold compared to 265 last August. In Cumberland County, sales totaled 336 units versus 268. Sales in Perry County increased to 38 units versus 27 in August 2015.

GHAR’s area covers all of Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties and parts of York, Lebanon and Juniata counties.

So Noted

Capital Joe Coffee has opened at 418 Forster St., Harrisburg, across the street from the state Capitol complex. Capital Joe serves Square One Coffee of Lancaster and pastries from Brew Crumberland’s Best of New Cumberland.

Impact Harrisburg last month awarded the city $250,000 in emergency funding to upgrade its IT infrastructure after city workers experienced system failures that prevented access to email and other shared files. The award should allow the city to migrate certain mission-critical functions to a cloud-based solution, thereby improving performance and reducing the risk of crashes.

Whitaker Center has announced the planned retirement of its long-time CEO and president, Dr. Michael Hanes. Hanes will retire at the end of next year, prompting the board to initiate a search for his replacement.

Changing Hands

Berryhill St., 2418 & 610 Fillmore St.: T. Le to D. Nguyen, $30,000

Benton St., 545: MBHH RE LLC to Triple Play Properties LLC, $30,000

Benton St., 601: M. Munro to S. Harrison, $102,000

Briggs St., 216: M. & P. Parsons to J. Vingsness & A. Posner, $205,000

Briggs St., 2024: S. Chapman to S. Maurer, $35,450

Brookwood St., 2213: PA Deals LLC to Mid Atlantic IRA & C. Hampton IRA, $50,000

Calder St., 268: K. Ciminello to B. Roller, $107,500

Chestnut St., 2048: S. Reyes to A. & R. Hart, $103,000

Chestnut St., 2215: J. & H. Kelly to J. & E. Colt, $179,900

Credit Union Place, 1: Pa. State Employees Finance Dept. to Commonwealth Charter Academy Charter School, $5,000,000

Derry St., 1316: Sandra Feigley Inc. c/o Thelma Johnston to S. Khan, $34,000

Derry St., 2035: S. Nagle to J. Guzman & M. Rodriguez, $89,900

Derry St., 2354: T. Pham to H. Pham & N. Le, $45,000

Emerald Ct., 2451: H. Conrad to J. & S. Theodorou, $82,000

Fillmore St., 610: T. Johnson to D. Nguyen, $30,000

Forster St., 1621: M&T Bank to PA Deals LLC, $47,000

Fulton St., 1738: PA Deals LLC to D. Reinhart, $124,900

Green St., 1623: B. Christine to S. Vemula & M. Chada, $115,000

Kensington St., 1952: J. & J. Belfonti to Tout USA LLC, $65,000

Lenox St., 1918: J. Zellers to A. Rosario & S. Castillo, $54,300

Lenox St., 1922: T. & J. Santiago to T. & B. Nguyen, $32,500

Lenox St., 1930: V. Bria to A. Perez, $62,500

Linden St., 109, 111, 113, 115, 117, 117½ 119, 119½ & 100, 112 N. 13^th St.: Habitat for Humanity Greater Harrisburg Area to CPenn Patriot Properties Midtown LLC, $131,000

N. 2^nd St., 1618: K. Robinson to D. Payne, $249,900

N. 2^nd St., 2531: S. Mirza & F. Jabari to H. & S. Johnson, $157,500

N. 2^nd St., 2539: D. Garber to E. & A. Stockstill, $165,000

N. 2^nd St., 2812: M. Macholtz to T. Brinkley, $280,000

N. 2^nd St., 3016: S. Trent to D. Marcheski & L. Boykin, $156,000

N. 3^rd St., 1122: S. & G. Giambalvo to G. & K. Tennis, $197,500

N. 3^rd St., 1935: T. Stutzman to Monte Design Studio LLC, $40,000

N. 3^rd St., 3104: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & ISN Corp. to M. Horgan & R. Kushner, $45,000

N. 4^th St., 1627: GWD Capitol Heights LP to J. Parfitt, $103,000

N. 5^th St., 2313: K. & D. Izer to BCR 2 Properties LLC, $30,000

N. 5^th St., 2437: Willowscott Investments to K. Hurst & N. Howze, $68,900

N. 6^th St., 1625: S. & C. Lane & New Heights South LLC to A. & A. Gee & PA Department of General Services, $42,000

N. 6^th St., 1633: HarrisPenn Trust to PA Department of General Services, $554,500

N. 6^th St., 2130: S&T Bank to N. Mitaka, $46,000

N. 13^th St., 146: L. Ware Jr. to W. Banks, $80,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 606: A. Moscato to J. Scarnati, $117,900

N. Front St., 1711: A. Haroundzadeh & D. Dohner to Harrisburg Redevelopment Group LLC, $1,065,000

Penn St., 1602: P. Larsen to M. Dinicola, $159,900

Penn St., 1916: WCI Partners LP to D. O’Hagan, $161,000

River St., 122: A. Rhoads & D. & S. Shatto to J. & G. Souders, $57,500

Rudy Rd., 1952: S. Schmidt to W. Zhang, $50,000

Rudy Rd., 2256: W. Ryan to Z. Rothfus, $176,900

Seneca St., 641 & 645: D. & K. Howard to DAP 7 Curtin LP, $55,000

Showers St., 615: J. & D. Groff to E. Hobbs, $155,000

S. 13^th St., 1400: J. & E. Cavitt to I. Medina & J. Culcay, $76,500

S. 20^th St., 209: R. Doerfler & J. Moffitt to J. & B. Readinger, $48,300

S. 27^th St., 710: D. & C. Howe to D. Barrick & A. Toci, $199,000

S. 28^th St., 728: S. Oscilowski to M. Marcus, $84,000

State St., 1604: Mid Penn Bank to C. Valdivieso, $37,000

Swatara St., 1523: Tri County HDC Ltd. To J. Macias, $102,900

Swatara St., 2145: S. & E. Reeves to M. Thompson & J. Longe, $64,900

Whitehall St., 1939: R. Miller Sr. to R. Howard, $50,900

Author: Lawrance Binda

Gov. Wolf Announces State Grant for Moose Lodge Redevelopment Project

September 7, 2016 | by Lawrance Binda

Gov. Tom Wolf (right) today announced a state redevelopment grant for a major project on a key block of Midtown Harrisburg, joined by state Sen. Rob Teplitz, Adam Porter of st@rtup Harrisburg, Alex Hartzler of WCI Partners and Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

A key renovation project in Midtown Harrisburg is expected to move rapidly to completion, as the state announced today that it will release funding to help finish the block-long historic rehabilitation at N. 3^rd and Boas streets.

The $8 million project consists of four buildings—the historic Harrisburg Moose Lodge Temple and three smaller townhouses, as well as a large parking lot.

WCI acquired the properties last year for $900,000 from Atlanta-based Mosaica Education, which had operated the Ron Brown Charter School there for five years. After its charter was not renewed in 2005, the school shut down, and the buildings have sat empty since then, boarded up and increasingly dilapidated.

WCI expects the 92-year-old, 38,000-square-foot Moose Lodge to open later this fall as a fully renovated, mixed-use building consisting of 33 one-bedroom apartments and commercial space. The 6,500-square-foot ground floor will be occupied solely by st@rtup Harrisburg, the city’s first co-working space, which is relocating from the 1500-block of N. 3^rd Street.

WCI Principal Alex Hartzler said that much of the RACP money will go towards finishing the project, especially the renovation and expansion of the three townhouses.

The back portions of the townhouses were chopped off years ago to expand the Ron Brown School’s parking lot and provide a children’s play area. However, the buildings were not properly sealed, Hartzler said. In addition, they’ve sat empty for a dozen years, resulting in extensive water and infrastructure damage, he said.

“This has been a vacant spot in Midtown Harrisburg for over a decade,” Hartzler said. “With our team, we’re bringing it back to life.”

Hartzler said that the project appeals especially to the “creative class,” creative professionals like graphic designers, illustrators and content providers who might want to work in st@rtup’s space downstairs and live in the apartments upstairs.

“If you’re a part of the rapidly expanding freelance workforce, if you’re a budding entrepreneur thinking, ‘I have an idea, now what?’ we’re here to help,” said Adam Porter, st@tup Harrisburg co-founder, who stressed the area’s walkability and proximity to the Capitol complex as key assets.

The state had not released RACP money since 2014, even though it’s intended as an annual awards program. Several other Harrisburg-area groups, include Gamut Theatre Group and the Harrisburg City Islanders, have applied for RACP funds. Wolf said that funding for other projects will be announced soon.

The Harrisburg Moose Temple lodge was built in 1924, designed in the Beaux Arts style by renowned Harrisburg architect Clayton J. Lappley.

Disclosure: Alex Hartzler is publisher of TheBurg.

Author: Lawrance Binda

What We Did Last Summer: While you were away, Harrisburg was busy rebuilding.

August 31, 2016 | by Lawrance Binda

Illustration by Rich Hauck.

September is here, and, yes, that means we have to kiss summer good-bye.

Like many others, you may be adjusting to the grim reality that it’s time to put away the beach ball and pick up the time sheet.

Your editor also had some time away this summer, and we’ll get to that in a bit. But, first, I thought that we should catch up on some important local news—things that flew a bit under the radar or may have been forgotten somewhere in the middle of that second margarita.

Two-Way 2^nd

“Multimodal Collaborative Project.” Have I already put you to sleep? I hope not because behind this dense phrase lies a series of infrastructure projects with the potential to truly transform Harrisburg.

In July, the nonprofit called Impact Harrisburg released nearly $5.5 million, half to the city and half to Capital Region Water. Combined with a match from PennDOT, this money is slated for road (and utility) improvements that could undo some of the tremendous damage wrought in the 1950s, when the state turned charming neighborhood streets into forbidding freeways—making Harrisburg both less livable for residents and easier to flee for workers.

Most importantly, the money allows the city to begin the process of returning N. 2^nd Street, from Forster to Division streets, to two-way traffic. Mayor Eric Papenfuse told me that preliminary work would begin next year, followed by actual construction, he hopes, in 2018.

The money would fund related improvements to N. 6^th, N. 7^th and Division streets, both to handle additional traffic and to make those roads more pleasant and pedestrian-friendly. A chunk of the money also would go to repaving much of N. 3^rd Street, a project slated for next year once the utility work is done, and towards making a dangerous section of Berryhill Street safer for pedestrians.

TheBurg has long advocated making 2^nd Street in Midtown/Uptown two-way as a vital step in revitalizing Harrisburg, reintegrating neighborhoods and returning this major thoroughfare from commuters back to residents.

Papenfuse wasn’t all smiles over the actions of Impact Harrisburg. He wanted the money that went to Capital Region Water to pay off the city’s loan for the recently completed streetlight project, with the savings then used for repaving neighborhood streets. In his opinion (though not CRW’s), opportunity lost.

Bar Stays Open

Papenfuse also wasn’t wild about county Judge Andrew Dowling’s order that forced the city to issue a business license to the Third Street Café, a Midtown bar that the administration has targeted for closure. Dowling found the city’s argument against the bar (that it attracts crime) to be weak and said, in any case, that state regulation trumps city restrictions for businesses that hold liquor licenses.

So be it. I’ve previously argued that the Third Street Café has a detrimental impact on the quality of life, the redevelopment and potential safety in the heart of Midtown. In my view, those things remain true. However, I can’t disagree with Dowling that city did not present a strong case for closure.

Dowling’s decision, though, is not stopping the redevelopment of one of the most forlorn commercial streets in Harrisburg, one with tremendous potential. Last winter, Zachary Nitzan purchased the block’s two largest historic buildings—the former home of Midtown Paint & Hardware and the former Volunteers of America building—and he spent much of the summer restoring them. One will house his high-end, custom-design rug business, and the other will be divided into two renovated storefronts, returning the building to its original format. Pass by, have a look and smile.

It seems that 3^rd Street will have to rise on its own, without the help of the heavy hand of government (that is, unless the city’s long-shot appeal works). In other words, it will have to come back in the way that forsaken blocks in many other cities have—slowly, by risk-tolerant people with vision and patience.

Cut the Tape

Fortunately, Harrisburg has a number of such risk-tolerant people, as this past summer saw the completion (or near completion) of several important projects.

Downtown, Harristown began signing leases for the Flats at Strawberry Square, the first of its three apartment projects in the immediate area. Several blocks away, a few intrepid European investors brought a couple of desolate blocks of N. 2^nd Street back to life, opening expansive restaurants called Capital Gastropub (the old Ceoltas) and the Bridge’s Social Club (the old Quarter).

Across Forster Street, WCI put the finishing touches on its renovation of the historic Harrisburg Moose Lodge at N. 3^rd and Boas streets. The ground floor is the new home of the co-working outfit, Startup, and the upper levels feature high-end apartments.

Speaking of redevelopment: I spent part of my summer in Portland, Maine, which (like vacations I’ve written about before) provided me with no end of inspiration for things we could do here.

Like Harrisburg, Portland is a small, historic city that had to remake itself following industrial decline. It’s further along in the process, having succeeded in playing to its natural strengths: charm, walkability, waterfront, seafood, tourism and all-things craft.

I was especially struck by a former industrial area, which has been rezoned and repurposed. Where there once were warehouses full of boxes and forklifts, you’ll now find tourists sampling craft beer, sipping small-batch spirits, eating gourmet food truck fare (I had something called “Japanese street food”) and listening to musicians. And I thought to myself—Cameron Street!

The transformation of Cameron has already begun, pioneered by Appalachian Brewing Co., now joined by Midstate Distillery. With their open spaces, high ceilings and rock-solid build, the structures there are ideal for the new urban industry—craft, artisanal, hand-crafted anything—with a little concrete, noise and ductwork no deterrent to foodies, beer snobs, wine geeks and bespoke fans (in fact, it may be an attraction).

Lucky for us, Cameron Street—from the Farm Show complex to the incinerator—is loaded with exactly this type of building. Any takers?

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

st@rtup to Anchor Historic Moose Lodge Building

March 10, 2016 | by Lawrance Binda

The historic Harrisburg Moose Lodge Temple, which is undergoing rehabilitation.

A Harrisburg co-working outfit will triple in size as it becomes the anchor tenant in the renovated, historic Moose Lodge Temple in Midtown.

st@rtup Harrisburg will take the entire ground floor of the landmark building at N. 3^rd and Boas streets, which last housed the Ronald Brown Charter School. The company is expected to make the move this summer when the renovation is complete.

“This move will allow us to better serve the city’s growing creative class and independent workforce,” said Adam Porter, st@rtup co-founder with business partner Adam Brackbill. “Harrisburg’s high quality of life and easy access to major markets make it a great place for anyone with an idea and the energy to execute it.”

st@rtup Harrisburg was founded three years ago as the city’s first co-working space, setting up in a building on the 1500-block of N. 3^rd Street. The new space, measuring 6,536 square feet, will allow the company to meet growing demand for a variety of workspaces, from shared desks up to private offices, said Porter.

WCI Partners purchased the dilapidated, 92-year-old building last year from Atlanta-based Mosaica Education. It had been empty since 2005, when the school district’s former board of control refused to re-authorize the school’s charter.

In addition to the st@rtup space, the renovation includes 33 high-end apartments in the building’s upper floors. Porter described the building as “Harrisburg’s first live/work” space, with the expectation that some tenants will choose to work downstairs in st@rtup.

Besides the Moose Lodge building, the project includes the renovation of three Victorian-style townhouses along the 900-block of N. 3^rd Street. Those buildings will feature commercial tenants on the ground floors and apartments upstairs, said WCI President David Butcher. TheBurg plans to occupy the ground-floor space in two of those townhouses, moving from its current location in Uptown Harrisburg.

Increasingly, creative companies are relocating to the southern tip of Midtown. Recently, photography and video company GK Visual purchased and moved into a former warehouse at 933 Rose St. The company will hold a ribbon cutting for its new space on March 30 at 4:30 p.m.

To learn more about st@rtup Harrisburg’s new space, visit www.startuphbg.com/new-home.

Disclosure: WCI principal Alex Hartzler is publisher of TheBurg.

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