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

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by crs921

The building, to be 19-stories including the "skybar," is just what Harrisburg needs.

Thanks for the pic! It will fit into the skyline quite nicely. And with it being so close to Front St. and almost dead center in DT when viewing from the West Shore, it is going to be a major showpiece...hopefully they stay on target and make it as grand as it seems to be in this pic!

*Keeping fingers crossed against the NIMBYs that may come out and cry that it "blocks Capitol views"*

How about someone remodel that ugly 333 Market St. beige tower from the 1970s and/or build something even bigger?

I have actually grown to "love" 333, and I think it would [hopefully one day I can say "does" instead of "would"] look interesting buried amongst more modern high-rises.

[Young Gun]

Awesome News. Don't let the GSA know or they'll want to commandeer it. How many stories is the parking garage that sits behind it? Will it be noticeable taller? I think we scared all the NIMBY's out of town with the Acore hotel proposal. They didn't put up a fight over the Barto Building conversion to a hotel.

BTW they are starting to do some prep work for the hotel. The tennants have been evicted from the buildings about 2 months ago, and they have been digging in the streets around the site for the utilities I guess. Also the University building on Market Street is starting to go up. I was busy till 10 pm the last couple of weeks, but I'll try to get around tonight to take some photos of both.

[crs921]

pics would be great of the univ. tower going up (including a skyline shot with the crane) - as well as pics of the site prep for the aloft hotel.

i am in ft lauderdale so i dont get to see how hbg is changing....

i still want to see improvements to 333 market - and i wish the 19 story building was 25 or 30 stories.

any other hbg developments in the works???

[danwxman]

I have a thread in the Under Construction forum for the Harrisburg University tower with links to live webcams, check it out. It's probably a few pages back.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by Young Gun

Don't let the GSA know or they'll want to commandeer it.

LOL yeah, and decide to demolish huge swaths of thriving buildings in the process!

Definitely looking forward to some pics, Young Gun!

Originally Posted by danwxman

I have a thread in the Under Construction forum for the Harrisburg University tower with links to live webcams, check it out. It's probably a few pages back.

I didn't even know you had that thread in there until now. Thanks, danwxman! And for those interested, it's this thread.

[crs921]

no pics of Harrisburg city developments/construction? (Judicial Center, Hbg Univ tower, etc)

also, any word on when the 19-story tower on 2nd street will be approved?

[danwxman]

Midtown theater sold
The Reily Midtown Cinema building in Harrisburg has been sold. Harrisburg-based Powers & Associates bought the 10,000-square-foot building from the board of directors of the Midtown Market District, Mayor Stephen R. Reed said today in a statement.

Under the agreement, Powers will take over $395,000 in debt the district owes to the city in exchange for the building.

The cinema will continue to operate at 250 Reily St. However, Powers plans to develop a 70,000-square-foot office building at the corner of North Third and Reily streets called Campus Square. The company plans to build a new theater, which the Midtown Cinema could occupy, in the first floor of the building, according to Powers.

If preliminary lease agreements are reached, Powers hopes to break ground on Campus Square by fall.

Plans for the Reily Cinema building will relate to the construction of Campus Square, Powers President Tom Powers said in a statement.

-- Eric Veronikis

[Young Gun]

Originally Posted by crs921

no pics of Harrisburg city developments/construction? (Judicial Center, Hbg Univ tower, etc)

also, any word on when the 19-story tower on 2nd street will be approved?

Sorry about the pics. I've been busy during the daylight hours rehabing my bedroom window.

As for construction does anyone know what is going on with the building on the Northwest corner of State and 2nd St? By city maps this is supposedly part of 202 State St but it appeared to be sold seperately. This past week "they" demolished the crappy looking 1 story addition (?) and appear to be digging a deeper hole. This is directly across State Street from the future hotel. A quick search of WCI partners website says they have a project at 202 State St. and 509 2nd Street. Which I have just realized they own that whole corner. J. Alex Hartzler sure is doing a lot of nice things in town. I hope all goes well for him.

[Young Gun]

Originally Posted by danwxman

Midtown theater sold
The Reily Midtown Cinema building in Harrisburg has been sold. Harrisburg-based Powers & Associates bought the 10,000-square-foot building from the board of directors of the Midtown Market District, Mayor Stephen R. Reed said today in a statement.

Under the agreement, Powers will take over $395,000 in debt the district owes to the city in exchange for the building.

The cinema will continue to operate at 250 Reily St. However, Powers plans to develop a 70,000-square-foot office building at the corner of North Third and Reily streets called Campus Square. The company plans to build a new theater, which the Midtown Cinema could occupy, in the first floor of the building, according to Powers.

If preliminary lease agreements are reached, Powers hopes to break ground on Campus Square by fall.

Plans for the Reily Cinema building will relate to the construction of Campus Square, Powers President Tom Powers said in a statement.

-- Eric Veronikis

I really wish they would build taller on that space and help to bring the downtown that direction. Harrisburg is landlocked it needs to build up now so it can build its tax revenue. (shameless plug to try to lower my tax bill)

I was unaware of this till I did a google search on the Midtown Market District. HYP So it sounds like the buyout is a good thing.

[MidtownMike]

Originally Posted by Young Gun

As for construction does anyone know what is going on with the building on the Northwest corner of State and 2nd St? By city maps this is supposedly part of 202 State St but it appeared to be sold seperately. This past week "they" demolished the crappy looking 1 story addition (?) and appear to be digging a deeper hole. This is directly across State Street from the future hotel. A quick search of WCI partners website says they have a project at 202 State St. and 509 2nd Street. Which I have just realized they own that whole corner. J. Alex Hartzler sure is doing a lot of nice things in town. I hope all goes well for him.

That was my doctor's office at one time (Loucas Tzanis...he died a couple of years ago).

I've heard rumors of a coffee shop or something similar moving in there.

[MidtownMike]

Authority may lease garages
The Harrisburg Parking Authority may lease a collection of downtown garages and parking lots downtown to a private firm.

The move could generate millions for the city without raising taxes, Mayor Stephen R. Reed said in a statement.

Reed and the authority issued a request for qualifications to firms interested in a long-term lease. The request requires each interested company to provide detailed information about its operations and its technical and financial abilities to lease the facilities, Reed said.

Requests for qualifications are due Sept. 6.

Reed would not say how much revenue a long-term lease could generate.

The lease would have to at least pay for the authority�s $114 million in debt he said, which would include depreciation of facilities.

Some garages, parking lots and 950 metered parking spaces will not be included in the qualifications request, Reed said. - Eric Veronikis
__________________________________

My guess is that parking fees would go up in those garages. Guess it was inevitable that they'd have to find creative ways to raise city income without raising taxes...not a bad alternative, IMHO.

[Young Gun]

The parking is pretty cheap. If it doesn't raise my taxes I'll be for it. I think we've reached the capacity of garages we need anyhow. Some of them (thinking of the one near the hospital) even closes many hours of the day. Maybe It will stay open or offer leases to the spaces?

[Young Gun]

Just on the CBS evening news tonight. The Spot will be closing in a couple of weeks. I've never ate there maybe I should so I can say I have?? Its supposedly been open for 68 years. Probably a very valuable location in today's real estate market.

[harrisburger]

this is the single most depressing thing i have heard come from harrisburg in a long time. no more late night hot dogs and fries for me.

[Young Gun]

Originally Posted by harrisburger

this is the single most depressing thing i have heard come from harrisburg in a long time. no more late night hot dogs and fries for me.

The peice didn't have a lot of details but the did quote the owner saying that he'd have to charge $3.00 for a spotdog to make any money, and didn't count out reopening in another location. My guess is it was time to renegoiate the lease.

In other more cheery Harrisburg news. I was leaving town today to come to work and construction fencing is going up around the houses to be demolished for the Aloft Hotel on the corner of State and 2nd. Looks like we are about to see some progress. I wonder how much work they'll be able to do through the winter. I assume they will need to upgrade the utilities before they get underconstruction.

[crs921]

hey young gun - dont forget to take some photos of the developments going on around hbg. (im in ft lauderdale and don't get to see the progress)

id like to see the skyline with the various cranes, hbg u tower, pa judicial center construction, etc.

any news on the 19-story building on 2nd street? it seems to have gotten hush-hush.

[Young Gun]

Do you know a good vantage point to see the cranes for the university tower? I've been looking for a good spot, but almost everywhere it is almost completely obscured by other buildings closer to the river. I know when they get up a couple more stories it should grow to be able to be scene.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by Young Gun

Do you know a good vantage point to see the cranes for the university tower? I've been looking for a good spot, but almost everywhere it is almost completely obscured by other buildings closer to the river. I know when they get up a couple more stories it should grow to be able to be scene.

The YWCA (Cameron and Market St.) at the top of Mt. Pleasant is a REALLY good spot for photos and you should be able to see the Univ. construction quite well from up there. You could also try the Civil War Museum at the top of Reservoir Park, but I'd save that for Winter b/c the trees can get in the way there.

RE: The Spot, I am in TOTAL shock right now and very saddened by this news! With each passing day, HBG just isn't what it used to be. Some may argue that this is a good thing but I disagree when it comes to things like this, as these places make HBG what it is.

[Preserve & Restore]

Hi guys, I was hoping to find some photos of your lovely city here but found almost none! I live in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona and would love to see what your part of the country looks like.

[Wheelingman04]

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