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

[danwxman]

The Harrisburg region has a lot of large employers. Highmark and Rite Aid in East Pennsboro township employ hundreds of people (was announced today Highmark will be hiring 200!). The city should try to get these large employers in the suburbs to move into the city. There's still a few empty lots in downtown that could fit a mid-rise office building.

The office vacancy rate in the city is very low, maybe the lowest of any city in the state, which is pretty impressive. There is definitely a demand for more office space...I have the feeling we will be seeing more projects soon.

Think about it...Harrisburg has quite an advantage over other cities in the state. One thing that is killing Scranton and Philly right now is the wage tax, which Harrisburg does not have. Someone could correct me here, but I don't really think the business taxes are that much higher in Hbg compared to the suburbs, unlike Pittsburgh. Plus, Harrisburg has a ton of great restaurants/lunch spots and a decent enough retail scene for office workers. It's really a great place to work compared to some boring office park where your only option for lunch is McDonalds.