Hi. New to the thread. Here's a federal courthouse update from The Patriot-News:
A NEW ICON
Friday, May 25, 2007
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News
It will not be your father's federal courthouse.
Instead of the monotonous, monolithic building that looms over the city at Third and Walnut streets, the new courthouse being considered for 10 sites across Harrisburg would stand out as a vibrant piece of architecture, according to those planning the building.
"The existing courthouse does nothing to contribute to the city," said New York City architect Susan T. Rodriguez, the lead designer on the Harrisburg project.
"This new building is going to be fine architecture," she said. "This building has to stand up to higher ideals. It's a major new public building for the city of Harrisburg."
Given the estimated $100 million price tag and the emphasis on striking design under the U.S. General Services Administration's Design Excellence program, the question is: Where do you locate such a jewel?
If you listen to the GSA's project leaders and designers, this new courthouse shouldn't be shunted aside in the city's periphery, but featured as a city staple as compelling as the Susquehanna River and the Capitol dome.
"This is a great opportunity for Harrisburg to add a significant new public building," Rodriguez said. "You want to make sure where it's going is a place that really represents Harrisburg --not just an available site, but the right site and right location."
When it comes to building federal courthouses, nine times out of 10, the U.S. government locates them in cities' cores.
"For the most part, cities are wanting us in the downtown core," GSA chief architect Les Shepherd said. "It makes sense from a public infrastructure perspective. Federal courthouses typically belong in the downtown."
The GSA is studying the list of 10 sites, with a short list of two to five finalists due next month, said agency spokeswoman Gina Blyther Gilliam.
Half of the 10 sites are in the city's 100- to 500-year floodplain and won't be considered unless the other five sites are ruled out, according to GSA project director Abby Low.
Three of the remaining five sites are downtown, where GSA designers insist there are "gaps" or "missing teeth." They said the city's skyline and profile would benefit from an architecturally graceful courthouse.
"There is still a lot of opportunity downtown," Rodriguez said. "There has been great improvement ... but there's a lot of sites still available. The density is very uneven, and this is a building that's going to really contribute."
But the consensus in Harrisburg -- among Mayor Stephen R. Reed, many residents and neighborhood groups -- is that the courthouse is best suited for a mostly vacant tract at Sixth and Reily streets, just north of the Bethesda Mission homeless shelter.
They argue that the site, though somewhat remote and underdeveloped, would be transformed by a burst of planned development in nearby midtown.
Harrisburg Area Community College is expanding a branch campus; developers are planning more housing, retail, residential and office construction; and the city is contemplating a series of parking garages.
"It makes a lot of sense," Reed said of Sixth and Reily streets. He blasted the prospect of Harrisburg -- already burdened by tax-exempt government buildings -- sacrificing more prime sections downtown for the courthouse.
"That would be inexcusable," he said. "There are alternative locations available."
The three downtown sites under consideration are the southwestern corner of Third and Pine streets, including the Payne-Shoemaker and other buildings; the Dauphin County administration building at South Second and Market streets; and the southeast corner of North Second and Locust streets, including the Commerce Bank branch, Dunkin' Donuts and Sandwich Man.
Of the three sites, Reed said the only one he wouldn't oppose is the county administration building because it's already tax-exempt, but it might be too costly to move the county offices.
Yet Reed said he has little sway over the GSA, saying "only God knows where the federal courthouse is going."
Two federal courthouses built in Oregon reflect the choice facing Harrisburg.
In Portland, city officials seem happy with the striking courthouse that rises above the city's downtown.
"Here, there is a modern building juxtaposed against these older civic buildings," said Julie Rawls, a spokeswoman for the Portland Development Commission.
"It added a lot to downtown," she said. "It took a new and different approach for what a federal courthouse would look like. It's not old or stodgy at all."
But the $129 million project completed in 1997 didn't do much to spur development because the surrounding area was already built out, Rawls said.
In Eugene, the modern courthouse that attempts to blend the city's interests in art and the environment broke ground with its bold architecture and location.
The year-old building was crafted with soft lines and a fluid, flowing style by a Southern California architecture firm, appearing to give the low-rise building motion.
Mike Sullivan, the city's community development director, credited the building's location, several blocks outside of the downtown, with helping move Eugene forward by opening up more land toward the Willamette River.
But it took the GSA three times to select the site, Sullivan said.
Eugene's experience has parallels in Harrisburg, where a historic district around North Third and Forster streets made the GSA's first short list but was later scrapped along with two other residential sites. Now, the Dauphin County administration building is under consideration, despite the county's $17 million investment.
Eugene was generally happy with the results, and the futuristic courthouse has served as a development tool and as a conversation piece, Sullivan said.
"It's definitely high style," he said. "This being Oregon, there is a difference of opinion about it. Generally, I'd say the response has been strong."
What isn't up for debate is that the courthouse's location helped Eugene open up a former industrial area for further development, helping the city forge a greater connection between downtown and the river, Sullivan said.
"There is redevelopment interest on all sides of the courthouse," he said.
The question remains for Harrisburg: Should the courthouse be a downtown architectural showpiece or a new anchor in an underdeveloped part of the city?
"This is such a signature civic building," GSA's Low said. "Do you want to put that in your core and further strengthen that core, or do you want to put it on the edges? What is the most beneficial approach to the future of Harrisburg?"
Only time -- and the GSA -- will tell.
JOHN LUCIEW: 255-8171 or
jluciew@patriot-news.com
©2007 The Patriot-News
© 2007 PennLive.com All Rights Reserved.
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