HARRISBURG-LANCASTER-LEBANON-YORK | South Central, PA | Regional Development Thread

[MidtownMike]

Pinnacle and Hershey will combine for major psychiatric facility
by DAVID WENNER, Of The Patriot-News
Tuesday February 26, 2008, 11:48 AM

Dauphin County's two health care giants will join forces to meet the region's need for inpatient mental health services.

PinnacleHealth System and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center will operate a 74-bed facility on the site of the former Polyclinic Hospital in Harrisburg.

They plan to open the $12 million facility April 1. It will be called the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute and employ about 150 people.

Hospital beds for people with severe mental illness have been on the decline in central Pennsylvania for years. A recent blow was the 2006 closing of Harrisburg State Hospital and its 206 beds.

Dr. Roger Longenderfer, CEO of Pinnacle, noted 31 percent of Dauphin County residents who needed inpatient psychiatric care during the first quarter of 2007 to had to be moved outside the area.

Longenderfer and Dr. Harold Paz, CEO of the Penn State-Hershey, stopped short of saying the new facility will put an end to such transfers. But both said it's unacceptable for local patients to be sent away, and the collaboration will lead to improved and expanded services.

The new facility will care for children, adults and elderly patients. Both Pinnacle and Penn State-Hershey have long operated inpatient psychiatric units, and all of those beds will now be housed in the new unit.

With the opening of the new facility, there will be 30 more beds than was previously offered by the two organizations.

A major benefit of the collaboration, Paz and Longendefer said, will be its ability to contribute to and benefit from research at Penn State-Hershey, and to collaborate with that facility's medical school to train doctors and nurses to care for people with mental illness.

[klingy04]

Hope this stays on track...

Harrisburg high-rise gets another nod from city
By Eric Veronikis
2/26/2008

The Harrisburg Zoning Hearing Board last night approved a Harrisburg development group's bid to develop a $35 million building that will include office, retail and parking space at 210 N. Second Street.

The developer, 210 North Second Street Associates, will soon submit its land development plans to City Council for final approval, said Andrew J. Giorgione, a partner of the development group. Giorgione said he expects council to vote on plans next month.

The developer hopes to break ground on the 18-story, 200,000-square-foot structure in the next eight to nine months and open in the fall of 2010, Giorgione said.

Plans for a section of the building at North Second and Locust streets have been modified to meet standards set forth by the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board. The building would incorporate extensive amounts of brick, glass and steel. It would rise 240 feet and include a rooftop bar, Giorgione said.

[EastSideHBG]

Wow, big news [both articles]! Good to hear!

[crs921]

What a dissapointment!
Thanks Jason Tromm at FlickR for the photo.

[Young Gun]

unfortunately that is the truth. If it was built towards my end of town it would be a nice addition to the skyline, but they built it in the heart of the "tall" buildings.

[crs921]

From Pennlive.com-

The Harrisburg-Carlisle area housing market was 37th most affordable in the nation for the last three months of 2007, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.

The quarterly index compares the median price for new and existing homes sold with the median income in an area.


The median is the midpoint, meaning 50 percent of homes sold for more and 50 percent for less. Regarding income, 50 percent of people made more and 50 percent less.

The index determined that 78.7 percent of homes sold in the Harrisburg-Carlisle area could be afforded by people making the median income of $65,600. The median price for a home sold in this area for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $142,000, according to the index.

The Harrisburg-Carlisle area covers Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties. Lebanon is a separate area and was not reflected in the index.

Lancaster ranked 62nd, with 69 percent of homes sold affordable to people making the median income of $64,000. Lancaster had a median home sale price of $170,000.

Indianapolis had the nation's most affordable housing market according to the index, with 89.5 percent of people making the median income of $63,800 able to afford homes.

The Harrisburg-Carlisle index since about 2000 has been close to or above 80 percent each quarter, said Steve Melman, director of economic services for the National Association of Homebuilders. The area's ranking hasn't changed much in recent years.

A year ago Harrisburg-Carlisle was 32nd most affordable nationwide with an index of 78.6 percent for the fourth quarter of 2006. Two years ago the area ranked 31st for the fourth quarter of 2005.

[crs921]

Fourth Street closed downtown for crane dismantling
by JOHN LUCIEW, Of The Patriot-News

What goes up must come down. So it is for the tower crane that hovered over Fourth and Markets streets downtown to build a headquarters for Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.

School officials said Fourth Street will remain closed from Market to Walnut streets through Tuesday night so two smaller cranes can dismantle the tower crane.

Trucks hauling away the crane parts would enter the site on Market Street and exit on Walnut, possibly cause sporadic delays over the weekend.

But university Provost Eric Darr said the crane dismantling should be all but complete by the start of rush hour on Monday morning. However one of the smaller mobile cranes would remain on Fourth Street through Tuesday to finish up any last-minute lifting at the site.

The 16-story $73-million academic center remains on schedule to open in late 2008.

[Young Gun]

Originally Posted by crs921

It was still up Sunday afternoon when I was driving back from Capitol Dinner. (<A very nice 24 hour diner I might add)

[crs921]

Pretty Harrisburg postcard on FlickR. Copyright info. on image.

[EastSideHBG]

/\
WOW!!! It's nice to see how many people photograph HBG, and how many really good quality photographs come from it. Way, way back when I first started photographing da 'burg as a hobby (about 10 years ago now) you could barely find anything on the internet...

[MidtownMike]

Originally Posted by crs921

Pretty Harrisburg postcard on FlickR. Copyright info. on image.

Nice, but that island has to go.

[Young Gun]

Originally Posted by MidtownMike

Nice, but that island has to go.

If you bring a shovel and a bucket we can use my boat.... Or did you mean edit it from the photo....

[Plompy Lfeata]

out of that nice picture, which is the crane that is coming down? is it the big one on the left or the red one in the back right side? and also, what is the crane that is still up building?

[Young Gun]

Originally Posted by Plompy Lfeata

out of that nice picture, which is the crane that is coming down? is it the big one on the left or the red one in the back right side? and also, what is the crane that is still up building?

The one on the right is coming down. The crane on the left is still working on the construction of the judicial building on the capitol complex. I believe there is a pic of the building on page one.

[crs921]

Motorists will need to avoid Fourth and Market streets in downtown Harrisburg from 7 p.m. today until 6 a.m. Friday.

The intersection will be closed while a crane is assembled that will be used to remove the tower crane in the Harrisburg University building site, according the city engineer. The crane then will be moved onto Fourth Street between Market and Walnut streets.

[crs921]

Did anyone get pics of the crane removal?

Am I nuts, or is it still there? The webcam image is showing that nothing has changed.

Any info would be helpful.....

[crs921]

Allie's.Dad on FlickR took some pics of Harrisburg and the high waters. Anyone have any more?

[EastSideHBG]

/\
I am soooo happy I don't live in Shipoke anymore! That would've been twice now in the last two years I would've had to sweat bullets and/or move all of my stuff to the 2nd floor.

Living in Shipoke was awesome but it definitely is not worth the risk (or the price of the housing and ins. for said risk). The threat of flooding seems to be happening more and more...

[crs921]

Bidclerk.com now lists 210 N. Second.....(this is good news!)

Project ID: 744298

Building Use: Office, Parking Garage, Restaurant, Retail
Reported: 03/05/2008
Status: Design
Private / Public: Private
Location: Harrisburg, PA

Est. Start Date: August 2008

DescriptionSite work and new construction of a mixed-use building in Harrisburg. Schematic designs call for the construction of an 18-story, 229,000-square-foot building with 13 floors of office space, 8,114 square feet of ground-floor retail space, a three-story parking garage and a rooftop restaurant.

A firm construction timeline has yet to be established. Interested parties may direct inquiries to the developer.


Divisions of WorkGeneral Requirements, Site Work -- Site Preparation, Erosion Control, Earthwork, Termite Control, Site Utilities, Water Distribution, Sewerage, Paving, Pavement Striping, Sidewalks, Irrigation Systems, Fences & Gates, Landscaping, Concrete -- Concrete Formwork, Concrete Reinforcement, Cast-in-Place Concrete, Precast Concrete, Masonry / Stone -- CMU, Mortar, Veneer, Metals -- Structural Steel, Metal Framing, Steel Joists, Metal Decking, Metal Fabrications, Railings, Wood / Plastics -- Rough Carpentry, Finish Carpentry, Architectural Woodwork, Thermal / Moisture -- Waterproofing, Dampproofing, Insulation, EIFS, Membrane Roofing, Roof Accessories, Firestopping, Sheet Metal Flashing & Trim, Caulking & Sealants, Doors / Windows -- Metal Doors & Frames, Wood Doors, Storefronts, Aluminum Windows, Hardware, Glazing, Finishes -- Soffit, Gypsum Board Drywall, Tile, ACT, Resilient Flooring, Carpet, Wallcoverings, Paint, Specialties -- Toilet Partitions, Display Boards, Fire Extinguishers, Wall Protection, Metal Wall Louvers, Toilet & Bath Accessories, Conveying Systems -- Elevators, Mechanical -- Mechanical Insulation, Piping, Plumbing, Automatic Temperature Control System, Ductwork, HVAC, Electrical -- Conduit Raceways, Conductors & Cables, Boxes, Wiring, Panelboards, Switchboards, Telephone/Data System, Fire Alarm System

[harrisburger]

i pray that those levels of parking aren't visible. and with the garage behind it, this side of 2nd is not too pedestrian friendly...the city is much too obsessed with garages...the least they could do is put some kind of screen there to mitigate the ugly-ness

otherwise, how are things looking on restaurant row? i haven't been back to the area since last august. any new businesses?