I think the above project is a good one in theory, but do we really need the same shit AGAIN?!? Go a few miles down the road and you have these exact same restaurants. Why not put something different there to draw both travelers and residents alike?!? My new slogan for the area: "Harrisburg: lots of new stuff, but most of it the same..."
I am excited about this new parking garage. Yes I know, it's a parking garage. But it's taller and can hold more, and I think it will pave the way for future development.
HARRISBURG
Downtown garage receives approvals
Thursday, November 17, 2005
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News
After months of delays, a plan to build a 750-space parking garage along South Street in downtown Harrisburg is back on the fast track.
The 12-deck garage, proposed by the Harrisburg Parking Authority, has won two approvals that city officials say should clear the way for construction to begin this winter.
"Everything's in place," Mayor Stephen R. Reed said.
The $17 million concrete parking garage, which would be cast on site, is expected to take about 15 months to build, said Joe Link, city engineer.
The oft-delayed project, planned for 220 South St. between Second and Third streets, was buoyed by two decisions this month.
The first, by the Harrisburg Zoning Hearing Board, granted special zoning exceptions to build the 120-foot-tall garage in the city's special intensity district, where the height limits range from 45 feet to 70 feet.
The hearing board also granted exemptions for larger lot coverage and floor area ratios.
This week, City Council unanimously approved a separate zoning amendment that removes various restrictions in the special intensity district. The amendment applies only to public parking garages.
The changes, which Reed vowed to sign into law, would permit public parking garages of heights up to 125 feet in the district, which extends from Locust Street to the south to a block north of Forster Street, west to Front Street and east to Third Street.
The amendment also exempts public parking garages from setback requirements and allows for more space to build.
The city sought both approvals after the parking garage, which was first approved in June, was challenged by the PMA Foundation. PMA owns a neighboring building at 225 State St. that houses the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Association.
Charles O. Beckley II, a lawyer for PMA, said the group is considering whether to file additional appeals of the new approvals.
PMA has been critical of the project, saying it is too big for the neighborhood. Beckley has criticized the zoning amendments for making special rules for public parking garages.
"I don't think it's valid," Beckley said of the legislation. "I don't think you can pass an ordinance for a single user."
But Reed and Link said they believe the two approvals put the garage on firm legal ground and said the project would proceed in the face of further appeals.
The first step will be to sell $17 million in bonds to finance the construction. That could happen in about a month, officials said.
Then construction would start with foundation work that involves boring up to 28 feet into bedrock to anchor the garage. Link predicted this work could go on through the winter.
The garage would serve Belco Community Credit Union, which is expanding its headquarters and consolidating operations on the east side of the 400 block of North Second Street.
It also would allow parking for the nearby Pennsylvania State Education Association. The garage could be open on weekends to serve churches and in the evenings to provide overflow parking for downtown restaurants and clubs, officials said.
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