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

[EastSideHBG]

Developer drafts plan for condos along river

Friday, January 05, 2007
BY DAN MILLER
Of The Patriot-News

Susquehanna Real Estate has a leg up in the race for residential condominiums on Front Street in Harrisburg.

City Council last month approved zoning changes -- including revision of a height restriction -- that clear the way for York-based Susquehanna to submit plans for 35 to 40 condos next to the Tracy Mansion at 1829 N. Front St.

The company hopes to submit plans within a few months, said Jack Kay, president of Susquehanna Real Estate. The condos could be finished by mid-2008 if all goes well.

The project, expected to cost $18 million to $20 million, includes restoring the historic mansion to offer fine dining and provide office and commercial space.

Meanwhile, Mary Knackstedt's proposal to tear down three North Front Street mansions to make way for a five-story, 32-unit condo complex remains bogged down. Neighbors had filed objections to a permit that had been issued to Knackstedt, and the state is reviewing those objections.

Lawyers for Knackstedt have appealed the city's rejection of her plans to raze the mansions.

"We're still mushing forward," said William Hoffmeyer, one of Knackstedt's attorneys.

Historic Harrisburg Association, a preservationist group that opposes the Knackstedt plan, is "essentially neutral" on the Tracy Mansion proposal, said David Zwifka, executive director of the association.

The group likes that Susquehanna plans to restore the mansion and improve the vacant lot next door, which now "destroys the rhythm of the streetscape," Zwifka said.

Kay said the vacant lot is part of an area between the mansion and condos that will be turned into an elaborate landscaped plaza, with a sculpture garden, lighting, paths and walks.

"It will become almost like its own little public square," he said.

The association is withholding final judgment on the condos until members can see the development plans and how the project relates to the surrounding buildings and neighborhood.

Susquehanna Real Estate "has a proven record in quality architecture," Zwifka said. "We look forward to their proposals."

Kay said the condominiums will range from 1,200 square feet to 2,000 square feet each. He expects prices to range from mid-$300,000 to about $500,000.

The condo building will include parking for two spaces per unit. Six floors of residential condos are to be built on top of the parking levels.

The asking price for office space will probably be about $14 to $16 per square foot, Kay said.

He has no "legally binding commitments" on any space, and no condo units have been sold. But it's still early.

Last year, Susquehanna Real Estate finished a comparable 21-unit residential condo project in York. The project has some commercial space, and the condos are in the same price range as those Kay wants to build in Harrisburg. But the York project can't boast amenities equal to Tracy Mansion -- there's no river, for one thing.

All 21 York condos have sold, giving Kay confidence that Tracy Mansion will do equally well, if not better.

[danwxman]

Another hotel, only a block from where the new one will be. This one sounds to be right across from the Capitol:

Harrisburg office building to become luxury hotel
Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed and developer and hotelier Jules Patt are expected to announce this afternoon that the Barto Building at North Third and State streets will be transformed into a $14 million luxury hotel.

The eight-story office tower will undergo a complete rehabilitation to create 88 guest suites, sources say, and three floors will be added to the structure, with the top floor featuring meeting, dining and lounge space.

The hotel will be operated as an independent luxury boutique hotel, with no national chain affiliation or designation, sources say. When completed, the hotel will offer 78,000 square feet of lodging, meeting, dining and related space. It will feature business and fitness centers, and a lavish patio lounge, grill and meeting room will be added to the 11th (top) floor to be constructed. There will be three guest elevators, one an express to the top floor.

The new hotel will be built, owned and operated by Patt, owner of the Patt Organization in Holllidaysburg.

[EastSideHBG]

Here's the whole article. Okay, another hotel, great, but can HBG see some new residential buildings please?!?


City plans second hotel near Capitol

Tuesday, January 09, 2007
BY JERRY L. GLEASON
Of The Patriot-News

Seventeen years after a hotel was last built in Harrisburg, developers have proposed two for the stretch of State Street between the Capitol and the Susquehanna River.

Plans for an 88-suite hotel were unveiled yesterday. They feature a patio lounge, grill and meeting room on the newly constructed eleventh, or top, floor of the Barto Building at North Third and State streets, developer Jules Patt of Hollidaysburg said. He added that the hotel would be geared to the higher-end luxury market.

The $14 million independent hotel would offer concierge and guest services and business and fitness centers catering to an upscale clientele.

The hotel is the second hotel planned for downtown Harrisburg. Last month, City Council approved plans for the $10 million, 183-room Starwood Aloft, which will be built at Second and State streets, a block from the Barto Building.

Patt and Mayor Stephen R. Reed said construction on the Barto Building project will begin as soon as council approves the plans, with the hotel expected to open in summer 2008.

Reed and Patt said there is a market for what both the Starwood Aloft and the new, as yet unnamed hotel at Third and State will offer.

"The market is very much there," Reed said. "We have been turning away business for larger conferences and conventions for years.

"We have a market strength here, not only for the two new hotels in downtown Harrisburg but for an additional two or three hotels. They would complement each other, which is what brings in more businesses."

Joe Massaro, general manager of the Hilton Harrisburg, isn't so sure that assessment is accurate.

"Another downtown hotel is approaching the point of saturation," he said. "You would have to be careful about how you position it to avoid saturating the market."

Dan Miller, a city council member and a critic of the Starwood Aloft project, said last night he had not seen the plans for the latest hotel proposal.

Miller said he had less of a problem with the latest proposal because it deals more with the upgrade of an existing building than with construction of a new one.

The most recent hotel built in Harrisburg was the Hilton Harrisburg in 1990.

The eight-story Barto office building, which is owned by the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, was built in 1904 and houses offices for the labor organization and other businesses. Reed said the AFL-CIO has agreed to sell the building and move to another location in the city.

The building is in a historic district, which means its facade must be maintained and the city's Historical Architectural Review Board must approve the construction plans, Reed said.

Patt said the interior would undergo reconstruction and three floors would be added, with the top floor featuring meeting, dining and lounge space.

The hotel would have no national chain affiliation or designation.

The hotel would be constructed, owned and operated by Patt, the owner of the Patt Organization in Hollidaysburg, Blair County.

Patt began his development activities in 1972 with neighborhood shopping centers and has built or rehabilitated more than 75 shopping, hotel, residential, office, manufacturing and warehouse projects.

"This is an exciting project that will dramatically enhance Harrisburg's status as a point of destination," Reed said. "The new hotel is geared to the higher-end luxury market and will feature the services and amenities that the more discerning guest has come to expect."

The new hotel would offer contemporary and individually designed furniture, special lighting, wall coverings and large bathrooms. Parking would be available at the city's South Street Parking Garage, less than a block away.

"We are very excited about coming to Harrisburg," Patt said. "Our capital city is well positioned for extensive future growth, thanks to Mayor Reed and the city of Harrisburg, and we think our location is without peer, offering dramatic views of the Capitol on one side and the beautiful waterfront on the other."

Patt said the hotel would create more than 80 full-time and part-time jobs offering full benefits.

[wrightchr]

^ wow...another hotel...this one would be 11 floors, near the capitol. and a condo project that *will not* destroy historic mansions along Front Street. sounds great to me!

Updated NEW Building Count for Harrisburg
13 floor hotel at State/2nd Street (completed 2007-8)
9 floor Commonwealth Judicial Center at the Capitol Complex (2007)
16 floor Harrisburg University center (75mil, 2008)
12 floor South Street Parking Garage (2007)
5 floor massive Capitol View Commerce Center along Cameron Street (TBA)
TBA new federal building/courthouse...which should now be somewhere in the CBD hopefully!
11 floor hotel conversion for Barto Building at North Third and State streets (14mil, 2008)
35 to 40 condos next to the Tracy Mansion at 1829 N. Front St (20mil, 2008)

on another note, i recently tried to access the city's website at http://www.harrisburgpa.gov/ and received this message:

This domain has just been registered for one of our customers!
Domain registration and webhosting at best prices.
does anyone have any idea what is going on? either the site is down for some reason...or the city, with its recent financial crisis, decided not to renew the address. what a shame, if that is the case???

[EastSideHBG]

/\
It was down for a couple of days, and sadly, I had heard the city did not renew for financial reasons so your hunch is probably correct, Chris.

Also, Randy King put in his resignation today effective at the end of this month. ..the tangled web of HBG quickly unravels...

[wrightchr]

^ i can't believe they didn't renew it. this is so sad!

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by wrightchr

^ i can't believe they didn't renew it. this is so sad!

Well now when you go to the site, it says:

Pardon the interruption.

harrisburgpa.gov is experiencing technical difficulties.

And the banner is back at the top. Who knows?

[wrightchr]

hmmm...yeah i just checked it out and your right about the message and banner. maybe they are renewing it! i guess we'll wait and see.

EDIT: I just checked the site this morning and it's back to normal again. I guess the whole things was just a glitch in renewing their address.

[EastSideHBG]

/\


And now back to typical stupid f*cking Harrisburg...


HARRISBURG

Lawsuits snag Aloft hotel project

3 parties grapple over rights to sell Restaurant Row property to developer

Thursday, January 18, 2007
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

Is a project to build a Starwood Aloft hotel on Harrisburg's Restaurant Row losing some altitude?

A dispute over a purchase option on part of the land for the proposed hotel at North Second and State streets has spilled into Dauphin County Court, perhaps threatening the start of construction in July.

"The intent is to kill multimillion-dollar development and job creation in the city of Harrisburg," Mayor Stephen R. Reed said yesterday. "It shall be resisted with vigor."

The disputed land at 417-421 N. Second St. and 201 State St. is owned by John C. Harbilas, a city businessman and property owner.

In December 2004, Harbilas granted a seven-year option to purchase the land to Belco Community Credit Union, according to court records and real estate deeds.

At the time, Belco was considering expanding its headquarters onto the adjacent Harbilas tract.

Since then, however, the company decided to relocate its headquarters outside downtown. Belco then agreed to sell the optioned land, along with its own tract, to hotel developer J. Alex Hartzler for an undisclosed sum.

But when Belco moved to exercise its option in October 2006 and purchase the land from Harbilas at the agreed price of $474,490, Harbilas balked, according to court papers.

Harbilas claimed that Belco's attempt to transfer the option to Hartzler was not permitted under the option agreement. Harbilas responded with counteroffers for the land, first asking for $550,000, then $700,000, saying he had received a better offer.

Belco filed suit in county court seeking to enforce the option at the original price. Harbilas responded with a countersuit against Belco.

Harbilas filed a cross-claim against Hartzler, president of the Harrisburg-based WCI Partners. The suit states that Hartzler wrongly and prematurely announced his claim on the land and spoke to tenants about moving out.

Hartzler, whose $10 million hotel project whisked through Harrisburg's land-development approval process last year, said he remains confident that the dispute will be settled and the 13-story hotel will be built.

"I don't think it affects the project at all," Hartzler said. "I have a contract with Belco, and Belco needs to provide the land. This may all go away."

Lonny J. Maurer, Belco's president and CEO, said yesterday that he believes the company's option for the land is fully enforceable, despite the change in the intended use for the tract.

"The terms and conditions of the option will prevail," he said.

Maurer said he and the company felt that after the headquarters project fell through, the hotel represented a project that would be in the best interests of the city.

"This is great for everyone," he said of the estimated $10 million hotel project. "It will help to build the city; that is the greater good."

Harbilas refused to discuss details of the suit, saying the court papers speak for themselves. He said that far from trying to kill the hotel project, he generally favors the plans, along with most investment downtown. He said he is merely out to resolve a disagreement.

"I am supportive when developers like Alex Hartzler want to invest in the city," he said. "My family and I have been here for about 50 years. At the same time, we have some issues to resolve."

The 138-room Starwood Aloft hotel would include an outdoor pool, street-level retail space, a lounge and a 140-seat restaurant with a sidewalk cafe on State Street.

Starwood, which manages hotel brands including Westin and Sheraton, is rolling out the Aloft brand to target business travelers. Hartzler has billed the project as a perfect fit for Restaurant Row, the city's strip of bars, restaurants and nightclubs along North Second Street.

With all city approvals in place, Hartzler had hoped to begin construction in July, just as soon as work is completed on the adjacent Spring Street parking garage. Under that timetable, the hotel would begin checking in guests by Thanksgiving 2008.

It would be downtown's third major hotel, joining the Hilton Harrisburg and the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

A fourth hotel is planned for the nearby Barto Building at Third and State streets. If approved, that $14 million, 88-room hotel would open in mid-2008, according to developer Jules Patt of Hollidaysburg.

[danwxman]

Major residential redevelopment under way in Harrisburg
Major residential development is under way in what is known as Olde Uptown Harrisburg. Mayor Stephen R. Reed and Harrisburg Developer J. Alex Hartzler, principal and chief executive officer of WCI Partners, today announced that $12.5 million in renovations and new construction began in a 16-block area between Muench and McClay streets, and Second and Third streets, adjacent to the Governor’s residence.

WCI is renovating 66 existing townhouses in the area and 19 three-story townhouses will be added through the “Olde Uptown” project. Renovations are already under way and should be finished by the end of the year. The new homes will be completed next year, Hartzler said.

Some of the existing homes have remained vacant since the 1972 Hurricane Agnes ravaged Harrisburg, Hartzler said. The renovated homes will range in price from $90,000 to $180,000 and the new, all-brick structures will start at $189,000. The new homes will feature a one-car garage and cement parking pad space, Hartzler said. All the homes will resemble large homes built after the turn of the 20th century.

This city has donated 19 vacant lots to the project, and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has awarded the project a $600,000 grant, Hartzler said. - Eric Veronikis

[klingy04]

Looks like the 2nd street hotel is back ON again. And another planned for Hershey... From Central Penn Business Journal.

Tentative agreement could keep hotel plans on track
Eric Veronikis
Central Penn Business Journal Staff
1/19/2007

Although a final agreement has not been signed, a tentative settlement has been reached between Harrisburg-based development group WCI Partners, Belco Federal Credit Union and Richard C. Harbilas. Harztler plans to develop a 13-story hotel at the corner of North Second and State streets owned by Harbilas and occupied by Belco. In October, Belco exercised a seven-year option to buy 417-421 N. Second St., and 201 State St., from Harbilas. Belco intends to purchase the property and then sell it to WCI. However, a price disagreement ensued, and until today, it seemed as though the matter was going to be settled in Dauphin County Court. According to attorney Steve Gierasch, who is representing WCI Partners. All three sides have reached a tentative agreement and are working to avoid going to court. Gierasch did not disclose terms of the settlement.

----------------

Patt eyes up another Dauphin County hotel
Jessica Bair
Central Penn Business Journal Staff
1/19/2007

Holidaysburg-based Patt Organization submitted plans for a hotel to the Derry Township Zoning Hearing Board Jan. 17, said Edward Small, assistant director of community development for the township.
The hotel, which would include meeting rooms and a restaurant, is set for the current site of the Derry Township municipal complex, Small said. The township is building a new complex at the corner of Hershey Park Drive and Clearwater Road and plans to move there at the end of April.

The hearing was continued until next month. The zoning board requested additional information on how Patt would handle the parking issue and more study information on how the height of the hotel might impact the surrounding neighborhoods, Small said.

Patt announced plans earlier this month for a $14 million renovation that would transform the building at the corner of Third and State streets into a boutique hotel. The organization would not comment on its plans for Derry Township.

[danwxman]

RENEWAL
85 city homes to be renovated or replaced
Saturday, January 20, 2007
BY FORD TURNER
Of The Patriot-News

Solidad Revera was not in the news conference crowd when she first heard of the $12 million uptown development project, but she smiled nonetheless.

Revera, a mother of five, hugged herself on a windswept porch on Susquehanna Street. The news that nearby blighted homes would be renovated or replaced led her to nod toward a condemned row home.

Her son lost his ability to speak clearly when he was 7 years old, she said.

"He got mental retardation from lead poisoning in old houses like that," she said. He was "touching and putting things in his mouth and they figured out that he had high levels of lead in his blood and it gave him mental retardation," she said.

Revera and others in her neighborhood will be affected by the "Olde Uptown" project announced yesterday by Mayor Stephen R. Reed at a news conference at 1908 Green St.

The conference site was a newly renovated home that had been vacant for 35 years.

With the $12.6 million project, 19 homes will be built and 66 others renovated in a rectangular area bounded by Maclay and Muench streets, and North Second and North Third streets. Most of the homes will front Penn, Green and Susquehanna streets, parallel to Second and Third.

The area is a federally designated historic district. It has strips of aging row homes -- brick structures with porches, second-story bay windows and sometimes decoratively shaped "false-front" facades in lieu of third floors.

The neighborhood is "not that bad. But there is a lot of killing," Revera said.

In the 2100 block of Susquehanna Street, Dae'Shaun Auter, 14, was shot to death on Aug. 12, and Tara Layton was killed by gunfire on Oct. 8.

Beth Beene, a registered nurse, has relatives in larger cities and has a different view.

"It's not like some areas of Pittsburgh or Chicago," she said. "Some people say this is the ghetto. I say, 'No, no, no, children, you don't know what the ghetto is all about.'"

Beene lives next to the house where the conference was held. She called the renovation job "stunning and beautiful" and a big improvement.

Reed said the new homes would sell for between $189,000 and about $200,000. Renovated homes would be priced from $90,000 to $180,000, he said.

Such projects can drive up property values and help feed the "very strong market" for middle- and higher-income housing in the city, he said.

Reed and City Councilwoman Patty Kim praised lead developer Alex Hartzler, who also is involved in a $10 million hotel project on Second Street.

Reed called Hartzler, a former online advertising executive, the "man of the hour." Kim said she wanted to support Hartzler "in any way possible."

Outside, a man in a winter jacket plucked a book from streetside trash. He was skeptical of the overhaul plan.

"It is pretty well-designed for upper middle class and middle class," he said. "Some people get 10 or 11 bucks an hour and can't afford a $90,000 home. Where are they going to go? The projects, I guess."

The man didn't give his name, saying "the police might come for me."

"They don't need any more houses around here. They are just going to drive up the prices like the Capitol Heights around the corner," said Mike Jones of North Third and Peffer streets, referring to a nearby renovated neighborhood.

Buying, selling and renovating already appeared to be going on in the neighborhood.

Ben Brought of Middletown was at work inside the stripped-down shell of a brick building at 266 Delaware St., which has been condemned for at least nine years.

His crew from Opportunity Builders placed wood sheets on new floor joists and tore up parts of old laths and plaster on the interior of the brick walls.

A private investment group purchased 10 properties on the same block, he said. Outside the building, a van bore an advertisement for Green Street Properties -- the same entity advertising the home where the news conference was held.

FORD TURNER: 255-8486 or fturner@patriot-news.com

[danwxman]

Penn State plans growth at Harrisburg campus
Saturday, January 20, 2007
BY JAN MURPHY
Of The Patriot-News

STATE COLLEGE - Having first-time visitors to Penn State Harrisburg say the campus looks like it has always been an academic community are words she never tires of hearing, said campus Chancellor Madlyn Hanes.

That tells her the look it had 40 years ago when it was a military base has finally faded and the new look of a residential college campus has taken hold.

Now, the campus has an enrollment goal of 4,500 -- an increase of 700.

"We certainly hope to continue the momentum we've enjoyed thus far," Hanes told university trustees at their board meeting yesterday.

The trustees approved a plan that offers a glimpse at what the Lower Swatara Twp. campus might look like a decade or more from now.

The master plan includes the possible purchase of at least 40 acres of the adjacent Middletown Home property, a continuing care retirement community owned by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

It also incorporates the new road being designed that will connect Route 230 to the Capital Business Center, a privately-owned distribution center behind the campus.

This will remove the 500 trucks that daily travel down the campus' entrance road to reach the distribution facility.

Gary Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer, assured trustees that the master plan came with no obligation to make it a reality.

"It's not an implementation plan. It does not commit us to build any buildings," he said. "Every building will have to come back to the board for specific approval."

Developing such plans is the way Penn State has been doing business for the past century, he said. It helps to have a 10-year vision for a campus to avoid pre-empting future buildings "by doing something that's not smart."

In recent years, the campus has moved from one that served only juniors, seniors and graduate students to one that also enrolls freshman and sophomores.

This shift has prompted the need for more on-campus housing and new or upgraded facilities, including a food court, tennis complex, library and natatorium.

Over the next 20 years, the campus hopes to construct a Engineering/Lab Building closer to the other academic facilities, a fitness center, more parking, an administration building and more student housing to accommodate up to 775 students.

Further down the road, the campus may build more student housing, recreational facilities and parking on the former Demey School site; add a wellness center; and construct three more academic buildings.

Getting the truck traffic off the campus entranceway is a big first step, Hanes said. Plus, it's good for the community, she said.

Frank Linn Sr., president of the township commissioners, agreed.

"It's all very positive," he said.

JAN MURPHY: 232-0668 or jmurphy@patriot-news.com

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by danwxman

Major residential redevelopment under way in Harrisburg
Major residential development is under way in what is known as Olde Uptown Harrisburg. Mayor Stephen R. Reed and Harrisburg Developer J. Alex Hartzler, principal and chief executive officer of WCI Partners, today announced that $12.5 million in renovations and new construction began in a 16-block area between Muench and McClay streets, and Second and Third streets, adjacent to the Governor’s residence.

WCI is renovating 66 existing townhouses in the area and 19 three-story townhouses will be added through the “Olde Uptown” project. Renovations are already under way and should be finished by the end of the year. The new homes will be completed next year, Hartzler said.

Some of the existing homes have remained vacant since the 1972 Hurricane Agnes ravaged Harrisburg, Hartzler said. The renovated homes will range in price from $90,000 to $180,000 and the new, all-brick structures will start at $189,000. The new homes will feature a one-car garage and cement parking pad space, Hartzler said. All the homes will resemble large homes built after the turn of the 20th century.

This city has donated 19 vacant lots to the project, and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has awarded the project a $600,000 grant, Hartzler said. - Eric Veronikis

AWESOME news!

[EastSideHBG]

I hope everything gets figured out and the hotel can be built on schedule...it's a shame that almost every great project in Harrisburg is riddled with issues and controversy...

Here is an article I found quite interesting:


THE GANGS OF HARRISBURG
JUST LIKE FAMILY

Monday, January 22, 2007
BY TOM BOWMAN
Of The Patriot-News

While Harrisburg has its share of violent crime, authorities seldom talk about gang activity.

But in compiling a list of Harrisburg's 13 homicides in 2006, police attributed five of them to street-gang activity.

These aren't gangs as seen on television or movies, law enforcement officials said. For the most part, Harrisburg's gangs are neighborhood-based, a loose gathering of boys or young men who live near one another.

Disturbing, however, is that these loose affiliations of neighbors are joining together more often in crime, officials said. There might be a growing presence from the outside: In at least two of the city homicides attributed to gangs, the victim and suspect weren't from Harrisburg.

The connection between crimes and gang activity is becoming more widely known because of high-profile crimes, Dauphin County District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. said.

"I guess a lot of times [gang information] does come out at trial, especially in drug cases, but the media isn't necessarily covering those day-to-day drug trials," he said.

"And a lot of it is more loosely organized activities, less sophisticated, as opposed to the L.A. gangs, where they are much more organized with markings and colors," Marsico said.

There are at least seven street gangs that sell drugs in Harrisburg, police and probation officers said, five uptown and two in Allison Hill.

Gangs in Harrisburg generally have three to 20 members, ages 12 to 22, said Harrisburg Detective Tim Carter, who investigates gang-related crimes.

"Mostly geographic-based groups involved in drug trafficking," Marsico said of the city's gangs. "A neighborhood group that works together to sell drugs and make money, and as a byproduct of that, they engage in some gun trafficking, some gun violence."

Dauphin County Juvenile Probation Assistant Director Chad Libby said police define a gang as three or more people involved in criminal activities.

"It's not exclusively drug dealing," Libby said. "Largely, that is always the primary focus. But we have seen other kinds of criminal opportunities."

Gangs sell guns for $100 to $200, or even rent guns for a few days, Libby said.

One way gangs get guns is by trading drugs for them, said the Rev. William Jones, pastor and president of Reclaim the Streets Ministries, at 18th and State streets.

"There are stash houses around the city where they stash guns. Sometimes they bury them in open lots," said Jones, who was one of several leaders in Harrisburg's gun buyback program last year.

National gangs sometimes test the drug market in Harrisburg, as in the March 29 fatal shooting of Alfred Pierce in Hall Manor. According to police, Pierce, 35, was a member of the Bloods out of New York, and the man suspected of killing him, who is at large, is a member of the Latin Kings from Allentown.

"Periodically, you have guys from New York coming in and setting up shop selling drugs. We've had that for years," Marsico said. "It's economics. What could sell for $10 in New York could sell for $20 here. Outsiders coming to Harrisburg to sell drugs is not a new problem. That's something we're working on with federal authorities."

But most city gangs are tied to a neighborhood, not a national gang.

That's because the neighborhood -- and the neighborhood gang -- can substitute for family, said Mike Consiglio, the Dauphin County deputy district attorney who prosecutes gang-related crimes.

"People grow up in the neighborhood, the same four-, five-, six-block area. Go to the same schools. Your father or your grandfather, your mom or grandmom are in and out of jail for drugs and violence or whatever," Consiglio said.

"Unfortunately, that's [the way] a lot of these kids will develop. Kids start hanging out within the communities, and they are the ones that become the family," he said. The neighborhood "becomes sort of a gang in and of itself. These people will be loyal to each other, will refuse to snitch on each other."

An example of a home-grown Harrisburg gang was TNU, which stood for They Never Understand, said Kimberly Kelly Sanchez, a former Dauphin County deputy district attorney who prosecuted the gang in 2004 and 2005.

Made up of about a dozen people, ages 10 to 22, TNU sold drugs and controlled the area around 13th and Derry streets from the mid-1990s until about two years ago, Sanchez said.

"I think the whole thing started coming together when there was a shooting involving a young kid. They were playing Russian roulette," Sanchez said of what prompted law enforcement interest. "That's when [federal and local investigators] started piecing the whole gang aspect together."

One of the pieces of evidence prosecutors showed during a trial was a picture of six young Harrisburg men sprawled around a living room, flashing gang signs, showing off their weapons.

When the TNU investigation ended, the combination of local and federal investigators drove the gang out of business. Thirteen people, many of them TNU members, were sentenced in federal court on charges ranging from weapons violations to heroin distribution.

One bright spot in the battle against Harrisburg's gangs has been in the city schools, officials said. After gaining control of the district, Mayor Stephen R. Reed took steps to increase security.

"When the mayor took over the school district almost six years ago, the first thing he did was bring the police back into the schools and to bring the probation officers back into the schools and to increase the schools' security staff substantially," Superintendent Gerald Kohn said.

Kohn said city schools are working closely with the Harrisburg police gang-prevention unit to make sure that gangs do not come into the schools.

"I haven't had a case this year involving a gang of girls, a gang of guys," Carter said. "School security -- they have really done a good job."

[EastSideHBG]

Oh Lord.

HARRISBURG

Snow funds? Reed warns of problems

Tuesday, January 23, 2007
BY JERRY L. GLEASON
Of The Patriot-News

Before the city has recorded its first snowfall of the winter, Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed warned that a major snowstorm would bankrupt the city.

The city doesn't have the money or personnel to handle a single storm that would dump a foot or more of snow, Reed said.

"We can respond to a normal snow event, but with a foot of snow or above, you start to get into problems," Reed said during a news conference to announce a building project.

http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriot...200.xml&coll=1

**************

Board OKs addition for hotel

Tuesday, January 23, 2007
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

A $14 million hotel planned for an existing building at Third and State streets has permission to grow.

The Harrisburg Zoning Hearing Board last night approved unanimously a 24-foot, two-story addition that developers say is necessary to remake the Barto building into an 88-room boutique hotel.

The building at 420 N. Third St. -- originally a Masonic temple -- would rise to 145 feet and include two additional floors of rooms, most with large glass panels for sweeping views. There also would be a roof-top bar, hospitality space and open-air deck.

The height limit for the area is 45 feet, but the eight-story building already exceeded that.

Developer Jules Patt of Hollidaysburg, who plans to call the hotel The Cosmopolitan, said the addition is key to both the financial and social success of the hotel. The top level suites and the roof-top bar, deck and hospitality space will take full advantage of views of the Capitol and Susquehanna River, he said.

There also would be a street-level restaurant and bar, with outdoor dining on Third Street across from the Capitol.

Plans for the hotel now go to the City Council for final approval, with construction slated to begin later this year for a planned opening in mid-2008.

So far, the project has drawn none of the scrutiny that greeted last year's proposal to build a $10 million, 13-story Starwood Aloft hotel at Second and State streets.

That 165-foot-tall, 138-room hotel was eventually approved 6-1 by the City Council late last year, and is expected to be under construction by July, with a fall 2008 opening planned.

The two State Street hotels would join the Hilton Harrisburg and the Crowne Plaza Hotel downtown.

[EastSideHBG]

So with all of these new developments, will Uptown be the new hot spot?


Offices, shops to be built uptown

Tuesday, January 23, 2007
BY JERRY L. GLEASON
Of The Patriot-News

The appearance of a weedy, partially vacant block in uptown Harrisburg is about to change.

In a little more than a year, shoppers and office workers are expected to be using a $4.5 million office and retail complex to be built in the midtown stretch of North Sixth Street. Plans for the project were announced yesterday by Vartan Enterprises Inc. and Mayor Stephen R. Reed.

The 36,000-square-foot complex will have four floors, with a restaurant and other shops on the first floor and offices above, Vartan CEO Robert DeSousa said.

"There is a tremendous need for restaurants, retail services and office space in the Northern Gateway area of the city," he said.

DeSousa said the company isn't ready to announce possible tenants for the mixed-use building, tentatively named the 1640 Building because it will be at 1640 N. Sixth St.

"We are currently marketing the building, which will be part of a beautiful rebirth of the area," he said. "This project will bring new life and vitality to the uptown area, and hopefully spur even more private investment and activity in what has long been a seriously blighted and under-utilized area."

The complex will be built on a mostly vacant, half-acre lot bounded by Sixth, Clinton and Hamilton streets. Vartan Enterprises had assembled the building site over the past 25 years by buying small lots. Construction will begin this year, and the complex is expected to open in the spring or summer of 2008.

It is the second multimillion-dollar uptown project unveiled in the past week. On Friday, city officials and developers announced a $12.6 million plan to build 19 houses and renovate 66 others in a rectangular area bounded by Maclay and Muench streets and North Second and North Third streets.

DeSousa said the late John Vartan, founder of Vartan Enterprises, began looking at the potential for uptown growth more than 25 years ago.

"We're investing in the city. We believe in the city, and the city is moving forward and we want to be a part of it," DeSousa said.

Vartan Enterprises will pay to widen Clinton Street from one lane to two lanes, DeSousa said. Widening the street will help mitigate the traffic impact of the project on Fifth Street, he said.

Reed said the complex fits in well with the city's Northern Gateway project, which will be under construction later this year.

The Northern Gateway project includes widening North Seventh Street from two to four lanes from Riley Street to Maclay Street, and converting North Second Street from one-way northbound to two-way traffic. This will divert much of the northbound traffic off Second Street and onto Seventh Street, Reed said.

"The growth we have seen downtown is moving uptown," Reed said.

[klingy04]

Great news for Midtown!

Patriot News
Mayor to announce new midtown complex
Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed and representatives of Powers & Associates LLC are to announce plans today for a major new office and retail complex at 1426 N. Third St. in the city.

Joining the mayor at today's announcement at the site will be developers Tom Powers, president and CEO; Doug Neidich, chairman, and John Tierney, chief operating officer. The first floor will provide street-level retail space while the upper floors will offer office space for commercial and retail tenants.

The historically styled four-story project estimated to cost $11 million is to be built on the site of the former Baker Garage at North Third and Reily streets.

The site is across from the former Evangelical Press building, which is being renovated by Powers & Associates to become part of the new Midtown Campus of Harrisburg Area Community College.

Demolition work is expected to begin within two months, with construction of the new building to follow. Completion is expected by summer 2008.

[EastSideHBG]

/\
The rendering:


http://www.abc27.com/news/stories/0107/391110.html


Here is an interesting story:

WORMLEYSBURG

Demolition starts for town-house development

Wednesday, January 24, 2007
BY ELLEN LYON
Of The Patriot-News

Demolition began this week on a single-family house and a duplex in the first block of North Front Street in Wormleysburg where a luxury town-house development is planned.

But the status of the $2.5 million project is uncertain.

In March, partners Dean Gekas of Wormleysburg and Scott Kuhn of Philadelphia said the development, which they called Edgewater after Wormleysburg's original name, would contain five four-story homes of about 3,800 square feet each.

Gekas was charged last fall with unlawful taking and theft by deception in a case involving an elderly couple who signed their home over to him. He has denied the charges. He could not be reached yesterday at a phone listing in his name.

Paul Hepler, a vice president at Yingst Homes, is now involved in the project, according to borough officials.

Yesterday, Hepler said the demolition was being done at the request of the borough.

Borough officials had been concerned that the vacant houses presented a fire and vandalism hazard.

No building plans or building permit applications for the project have been submitted to the borough, according to borough Manager Gary Berresford.

[wrightchr]

wow...incredible news with all the new development taking place downtown, midtown, and now uptown. here's the new update on progress:

Updated NEW Building Count for Harrisburg
1.13 floor hotel at State/2nd Street (completed 2007-8)
2.9 floor Commonwealth Judicial Center at the Capitol Complex (2007)
3.16 floor Harrisburg University center (75mil, 2008)
4.12 floor South Street Parking Garage (2007)
5.5 floor massive Capitol View Commerce Center along Cameron Street (TBA)
6.TBA new federal building/courthouse...which should now be somewhere in the CBD hopefully!
7.11 floor hotel conversion for Barto Building at North Third and State streets (14mil, 2008)
8.35 to 40 condos next to the Tracy Mansion at 1829 N. Front St (20mil, 2008)
9.4 floor modern office building/retail first floor at North Third and Reily streets, will be the Midtown Campus of Harrisburg Area Community College (11mil, 2008)
10.4 floor/36,000-square-foot office complex at 1640 N. 6th Street (4.5mil, 2008)

Other Notable Development
1.19 new homes constructed and renovate 66 others in a rectangular area bounded by Maclay and Muench streets and North Second ($12.6mil)