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

[EastSideHBG]

Well I have to give it up to my neighbors, we fought a good fight. It's unfortunate the world works the way it does, but sadly, I was not surprised by this decision.


Lower Paxton backs Wal-Mart plan

Opponents level attacks against national retailer

Wednesday, August 04, 2004
BY KELLY BOTHUM
Of The Patriot-News

The Lower Paxton Twp. municipal building was a tough place for Wal-Mart fans last night.

And it wasn't too comfy for the board of supervisors either.

In a meeting offering more drama than the summer offerings on prime-time television, the supervisors reluctantly voted to approve a plan to build a 223,806-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter on the current site of the Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church and School.

The vote capped nearly three hours of attacks against Wal-Mart from a standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 residents.

All but a handful opposed the plans for a 24-hour store featuring a grocery section, a drive-through pharmacy, a garden center and 20,000 square feet of unspecified retail space.

Many in the crowd raised concerns about increasing gridlock in an area already choked with traffic.

Others focused their criticism on the Arkansas retailer's corporate reputation for stiff competition and low wages.

"They're going to suck the economic life out of the community," said Eric Epstein, a local activist who is running for the state Senate. He recently sued to revoke Wal-Mart's corporate charter in Pennsylvania.

Although approval of the plan last night was a big win for Wal-Mart, other challenges remain. Holy Name is facing a fight in its effort to relocate to West Hanover Twp. The church wants to build a 30,000-square-foot replacement for the present church and a 66,000-square-foot school on land owned by the Diocese of Harrisburg next to Resurrection Cemetery.

Several times during the meeting, supervisors said they didn't like the plan because of its impact on Lower Paxton, but they argued that they had little choice but to approve it because the plan met the township's ordinances. That was the only factor that state code allowed them to consider, they said.

Lawyer Steven Snyder, representing Lower Paxton Residents for Responsible Growth, a group opposed to the Wal-Mart, said he believed the supervisors had the authority to vote against the plan because of its negative impact on the township.

"It's very disappointing. It's bad for the township. It's bad for the residents," Snyder said.

Elected officials weren't immune from the criticism during the meeting. Several people accused the board of siding with Wal-Mart and its development plan over the wishes of residents.

"Your will should be the will of the people," resident Jack Garner told the board, reminding them of past supervisors who were voted out of office.

The supervisors wavered right up to their 4-1 vote in Wal-Mart's favor.

That decision, with Supervisor William Hornung casting the lone dissenting vote, came after a motion to reject the plan failed to secure a majority of votes.

"I'm wrestling with whether to vote yes or to vote no. And I haven't decided yet," Supervisor Gary Crissman told the audience just before his vote. He initially voted to reject the plan but voted for its approval after the first motion failed.

Chairman William B. Hawk admitted his first visit to Wal-Mart came only four weeks ago, and he couldn't wait to get out of the store. Despite that, he said, he couldn't consider his own feelings in deciding on the plan.

"This is probably one of the hardest things I've ever gone through," Hawk said, adding that he couldn't think of another project that caused more controversy in the township.

While the decision is a loss for the citizens group, Snyder said, it will work to influence off-site traffic and road improvements through the state Department of Transportation, which will issue the highway occupancy permit for the project.

[EastSideHBG]

Congressman Holden delivers $6,025,000 in federal earmarks for Dauphin County Projects.

• Capital Area Transit (CAT) - $1.2 million from the Dept. of Transportation to go toward its current bus replacement program.
• The Harrisburg Transportation Center - $2.1 million from the Dept. of Trans. for renovations to its intermodal transportation facility.
• The CorridorONE rail project - $2 million in funding from the Dept. of Trans. to complete its preliminary engineering.
• The City of Harrisburg - $500,000 from the Dept. of Trans. to fund its 7th Street Project (the "Northern Gateway Project").
• Swatara Twp. - $100,000 for traffic signalization improvements to Paxton St.
• The City of Harrisburg - $300,000 from the EPA to fund improvements to the Mish Run Sewer infrastructure.
• The Harrisburg University of Science and Technology - $325,000 from the Dept. of Education to help it undertake the detailed planning of its seamless high school/university curriculum in conjunction with new math and science equipmnet purchases.

[EastSideHBG]

Ah yes, the chaos that is downtown on a Friday/Saturday night. :nuts:


Party patrol tracks downtown revelers

Sunday, August 08, 2004

BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

It's 2 a.m. on a Saturday -- closing time on Harrisburg's Restaurant Row.

For the nearly 5,000 people, many of them in their 20s and early 30s, who came here seeking drinks, dancing and a good time, it means the end of the party.

For the eight to 12 city police officers assigned to control the crowds, it's just the beginning of their weekend chores.

As downtown has grown into an after-hours playground for thousands from across the midstate and beyond, it has increasingly fallen to Harrisburg police to keep a lid on potential problems without putting a damper on the fun.

The police department has assembled a unit to perform these weekend duties. But all of the officers on duty in the city can be summoned downtown when crowds are at their height.

Call it Harrisburg's party patrol.

"They are coming to have a good time, so be it," says Capt. Issac Nixon, who's in charge of all of Harrisburg's uniformed police. "That's what we want."

Watching closely:

On any given evening, trouble can come from anywhere, most of it fueled by alcohol.

There's the blonde arguing with her boyfriend. He thinks she was showing a little too much attention to another man while dancing in Eclipse, a downtown club.

Now she's in his face, even shoving him, while he insists he wants nothing more to do with her.

All the while, a beefy, barrel-chested police officer watches warily, waiting for the argument to escalate, prepared to intervene if it does.

Around the corner on Pine Street, two bands of men are locked in a war of angry words. Their faces contort into scowls as they hurl epithets and gesture wildly.

Another officer spots the commotion and puts out a quick call on the lapel radio strapped to his chest.

Within seconds, several other officers converge, including two mounted on horses, a feature of the after-hours patrol.

Since no punches have been thrown, the officers can separate the men without making any arrests. The verbal combatants are now on opposite sides of Pine Street, but they continue their debate in front of the cops.

Finally, the officers have heard enough. They begin questioning the men, demanding IDs and radioing in to check for warrants.

Farther up Second Street, a Life Team ambulance is parked and ready, just in case the fun turns to tragedy.

Noise and traffic:

Officers must keep an ear out for excessive noise from the bars and clubs. This is an added duty the city requested from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Enforcement arm of the state police.

The city department has two officers who make checks of the downtown clubs several times an evening.

Police officers also must referee occasional disputes that flare up among hot dog cart vendors vying for sidewalk space near the busiest bars.

A mounted officer was trying to arbitrate such a dispute when her horse seemed to settle the matter.

The animal released its bowels right in front of one of the hot dog carts. The manure and its smell would affect business for the rest of the night.

Other tasks are as mundane as controlling traffic.

Cops whistle and wave at cabbies to prevent them from double-parking and clogging Second Street. And in the midst of the 2:30 a.m. rush hour, they direct traffic out of the River Street parking garage, helping to clear the city shortly after 3 a.m.

Fully staffed, the downtown unit numbers eight officers, including officers from the department's traffic safety, community policing and equestrian units.

It's routine for the 12 night-shift officers patrolling other parts of the city to be called downtown to help.

Department officials insist the rest of the city receives adequate police coverage. While this year's budget called for hiring as many as 10 officers, the increase wasn't tied to the increased patrols downtown.

Police officials say their aim is not to make arrests or carry out maximum enforcement, but to keep downtown safe and fun -- similar to how a stepped-up police presence helped reclaim New York City's Times Square in the early 1990s, remaking it as an international tourists' mecca.

"We're there to keep people safe," Nixon says. "It's not that bad down there. My biggest worry is someone getting run over by a car. They just walk out in the street. They won't cross at the crosswalks."

Every night of the week:

Most problems involve too much alcohol, too much testosterone and too little common sense, Nixon says.

"We have two to three fights a night," he says. "Guys get their beer muscles."

There also have been several recent robberies, including one in which the victim was a waitress.

In 2002, Kareem George, 24, was shot and killed in the River Street garage after an argument inside the nightclub Dragonfly. No arrests have been made.

In June, Melissa Cummings, 21, was charged with driving drunk and killing a pedestrian on Front Street after police said she was drinking in the Italian American Club downtown.

That occurred early on a weekday evening, showing that potential problems downtown are more than a weekend phenomenon.

The city seems to be drawing an after-work crowd from the city and the suburbs. People flock for happy hour, then stay for dinner and drinks nearly every night of the week.

On weekends, revelers come from as far away as Reading, Sunbury, Selinsgrove and even Philadelphia and parts of Maryland, according to bar owners who track such things using credit card receipts and computer swipes of drivers' licenses.

In fact, city residents make up only a small percentage of the downtown crowds, especially on the weekends.

"It's a negligible amount," says Ron Kamionka, who manages numerous clubs and restaurants downtown.

Using his tracking of computerized ID swipes, used to check people's ages as they enter the bars, Kamionka says about 34 percent of the crowds are from the immediate suburbs on the East and West Shores.

"It's no longer just locals coming out," Kamionka says. "On Friday and Saturday nights, it's a destination point. Being here all the time, we don't realize how big of an animal we have created."

Sending a message:

Nixon said the "worst case" would be another homicide downtown. All the fun would evaporate if people didn't feel safe.

The larger police presence, along with a DUI checkpoint on Front Street over the Memorial Day weekend, have been designed to prevent such crimes.

"It was designed to send a message to kick off the summer," Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico says of the DUI checkpoint, which netted about a half-dozen violators.

Arrest numbers are not up dramatically in the downtown area, police say.

On an average summer weekend, the number of arrests for crimes such as public drunkenness, assault or DUI could number as many as five or six, or as few as one or none.

On a recent Friday, police exhibited restraint in stopping fights and dealing with people who had clearly had one drink too many.

The cops even managed to move along an amorous couple who were making out while sitting on a sidewalk in front of the Coyote Hardware Bar.

With their lips seemingly glued together and their hands roaming each other's bodies, the couple were oblivious to the chaotic street scene all around them.

That night, just one person ended up in handcuffs -- a man in his early 20s, clad in shorts and sandals, who had been twice kicked out of Fisaga for being visibly intoxicated.

Once apprehended, he was forced to stand in front of the bar, his hands cuffed behind his back and a mounted officer holding onto his shirt collar, until a police van rolled up.

Most people don't consider the officers as party poopers. The mounted police are a particular attraction, with people coming up to chat and pet the horses.

"They don't try to arrest everybody," says hot dog vendor Dave "Sparky" DePaoli, 28, who sees everything from a position across Second Street from the busiest clubs. "They just want to make sure everyone stays safe."

He says he recognizes the need for their presence. "I see fights every weekend," he says.

Fresh from fending off the unwanted attentions of a man who followed her from her car, Jessica, 22, says she, too, welcomes the police. Uniformed officers on every corner create a sense of security, especially for young women, she says.

Club owners say Harrisburg's late-night scene could not thrive without the good judgment and hard work of the cops.

"The city is putting forth a continued effort to make sure it stays under control," says Kamionka, standing outside Eclipse and the Coyote Hardware Bar, two of the five city bars he manages. "They are doing a really good job."

In return, the officers on downtown patrol enjoy the spectacle of Second Street. Revelers flit from bar to bar. Women wear fashions that flirt with how low necklines can plunge and how high miniskirts or shorts can ride.

A man carries a woman on his back, giving her a faux horseback ride that mimics the mounted officers.

"There's a whole lot of theater going on out there," Nixon says, laughing. "It can be amusing, I'm sure."

[harrisburger]

wow....three weeks away on vacation and all of this news. i guess there's not really that much to say about walmart. i knew it would go through, so no surprise really. the story about the clubs reminds me on my friends and i's pastime: walking 2nd street when they let out, watching the drunks fight and stumble to their cars. it really is theater like the article said.
i guess i'm most surprised about the restaurant news. i would have replied in the other thread, but i'll add to this one instead. the sheer size impressed me the most. patios inside and out, 3 floors. this is just what 2nd street needed. i imagine the place will be packed in the summer, and hopefully the crowds will bring along the much needed shops. downtown is really going to start booming in the coming years....on other news, i was surprised to see the susquehanna marketplace by hoyt's (excuse me, regal cinemas 14) nearly done. i saw damon's and other stores' signs placed. i still think for such high-brow stores, a strip mall is less than ideal, oh well

[EastSideHBG]

Hey harrisburger, did you know that Wallaby's is now open (right by the Country Oven off of 81)? I just drove by it and it was PACKED!!! Not only that, but Fisaga's is building a restaurant at the corner of Rt. 22 (Allentown Blvd.) and Mountain Road. It's right across the street from the strip mall that has Karns, BK and all that in it. This restaurant is on the site where Dutch Pantry once stood. When that opens that is also going to be packed beyond belief. And with the new Wal-Mart a block down?!? Damn. The development and new things opening up around here simply amazes me.


Architecture task force finds its urban studio

Wednesday, August 11, 2004
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

A planned urban architectural studio for Harrisburg has found a temporary home.

The Harrisburg Urban Studio Task Force has selected 1701 N. Third St. as its short-term location.

Mayor Stephen R. Reed created the task force, made up of representatives from architecture schools in Pennsylvania. It is modeled after Auburn University's Rural Studio.

Its mission will be to improve urban neighborhoods through the education of young architects.

"1701 North Third Street has the basic needs required by the Harrisburg Urban Studio," task force Chairman Brad Guy said. "It has adequate studio space, a location in central Harrisburg and storefront display space where Harrisburg residents can view the projects and progress of the Urban Studio."

Guy is director of operations for Penn State University's Hamer Center for Community Design.

The studio will use the first floor of the building for one year. But it won't move into the location until the city upgrades the building.

The studio hopes to begin operations in the building in January.

At that time, the building will serve as the focus for student-conducted architectural projects throughout the city, including community and neighborhood design-build projects.

The plan calls for Pennsylvania's leading architecture colleges to send students to study, design and build projects in Harrisburg to operate out of the Harrisburg Urban Studio.

Representatives from the schools of architecture at Carnegie-Mellon, Penn State, Temple and Lehigh universities and the Auburn University Rural Studio are on the task force.

Harrisburg area architects are taking an active role in the task force's architecture education center.

The program hopes to provide architectural students with practical experience while enhancing the environment of disadvantaged communities.

There is also an Urban Studio Architect Advisory Committee of 10 local architects who have volunteered to provide practical consultation and project mentoring to the task force.

The committee has reviewed and approved the building for student use.

[EastSideHBG]

What an awesome story!!! One person really can make a difference...


Man makes inner-city investment

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Chris Spahr, a banker's son, practices his own form of investing.

He befriends a city kid who just had a murder near his home. He lugs busted-up cement to rebuild a once-blighted city street corner. He mentors hard-luck youngsters facing the fork in the road between drugs and achievement.

Spahr is investing in humanity.

He does it on Allison Hill, where he lives and volunteers. Twenty-five and white, West Shore-raised and master's degree-bound, he certainly could be doing other things.

The explanation of his lifestyle involves St. Francis of Assisi, an organization called Joshua Group, and a secure childhood.

"I had a supportive, solid family. ... God, family and education were huge priorities, and that was an incredible blessing," said Spahr, son of William and Carol Spahr of Hampden Twp.

Soon after he received his bachelor's degree from Penn State in 2001, Spahr spent a year in Kenya. He helped street children in the city of Bungoma and visited AIDS patients in a hospital.

After he returned from Kenya, Spahr moved to Allison Hill and became a volunteer teacher at the new Nativity School, a faith-based private school for at-risk city boys. After a year of teaching, he started work toward a master's degree at Shippensburg University.

This summer, he returned to live on Allison Hill, working with community groups to improve blighted, vacant lots.

Spahr, tall and lean, ran cross-country races and played soccer at Trinity High School before graduating in 1997.

He speaks calmly and factually about his motivations. They revolve around the Prayer of St. Francis, which starts like this: "Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope..."

About a half-dozen others such as Spahr -- white, suburban-raised, twentysomethings -- live and volunteer out of the Catholic Worker House and the Joshua House. They are side by side in the 1400 block of Market Street, close to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and the Nativity School.

Much of the effort is coordinated by The Joshua Group. The 6-year-old nonprofit, led by director Kirk Hallett, mentors inner-city youth and works for community revitalization. Its efforts are built on young adults willing to give a year or two to help the poor.

Hallett is looking for more volunteers like Spahr. They receive some financial assistance. Room and board at Joshua House or the Catholic Worker House are free. In some instances, they get health insurance, or credits toward college or postgraduate tuition, or a stipend of $200 a month.

[harrisburger]

eastside...this area is growing more than anyone could have possible imagined. as for fisaga, it's also having a location on market street in camp hill. this is the next area to watch....

[EastSideHBG]

Damn I didn't know they were building one there too. WOW!!!

Did you see there is ANOTHER KoKomo's on Rt. 22 heading towards Hershey and it's almost ready to open? Yep, that's right, not too far from the one on Linglestown Road. Now how long before this new one catches on fire?

One of the negatives I see about our growth is the roads were not meant to handle any of this. They keep building and building yet they fix the roads AFTER it is already a major problem. Fix the roads to handle the traffic at the same time (or before)!!!! My g/f is moving down here and she can't believe the traffic. "Is it like this everyday?!?" she asked me today. "Yep, get used to it." I warned her beforehand, but she didn't listen. She knows now, that's for sure.

[EastSideHBG]

Church's footbridge plan gets rejected

Holy Name to submit alternative proposal

Friday, August 13, 2004
BY PHYLLIS ZIMMERMAN
For The Patriot-News

West Hanover Twp. officials' rejection last night of plans for a footbridge left in limbo a deal that would bring Holy Name of Jesus Church and school to the township and a Wal-Mart Supercenter to the church's current site in Lower Paxton Twp.

Lower Paxton supervisors on Aug. 3 approved Wal-Mart plans for a 223,806-foot store on Allentown Boulevard, but the giant retailer's plans are contingent on the church moving.

That may take awhile.

"We are only working on a [zoning] variance for a footbridge," Linda Turns, chairwoman of West Hanover's zoning hearing board, reminded the estimated 75 township residents and church parishioners who attended last night's often-emotional meeting. "This is only the first step. This is only a minor step for all the other hoops [the church] will have to go through before the first shovel is thrown."

The board denied a variance the church had sought to build a footbridge to link facilities at the complex that Holy Name wishes to build at Oak Grove and Sterling roads.

A zoning variance was required for a 6-foot-wide, 38-foot-long pedestrian bridge over Beaver Creek and a sanitary sewer line crossing because the work would be within 25 feet of protected environmental areas.

Church representatives said the bridge would mean a 300-foot walk from a parking lot to church buildings. Project engineers said building a sidewalk around the site's perimeter would mean a walk of 1,000 feet.

Nathan Wolf, representing Concerned Citizens of West Hanover, said Holy Name parishioners now walk that distance from parking areas to church facilities.

Those opposed to the bridge as designed say the site is too wet for construction and that rain runoff from parking lots would erode the property.

But the church did have support among last night's audience.

"I am for the school and church coming to West Hanover," resident Kelly Griffith said during the public-comment portion of the meeting. "I consider it an honor and a blessing. We're in West Hanover Twp. Everything is wet here. If we didn't build on land that was wet, nothing would ever be built here."

Holy Name wants to build a 66,000-square-foot school for kindergarten through eighth grade, a 30,000-square-foot church, a rectory and church office, athletic fields, and approximately 1,000 parking spaces on land owned by the Diocese of Harrisburg next to Resurrection Cemetery.

Attorney Charles Suhr, who represents Holy Name, said the church will alter the proposal for further review by the township but didn't specify a timeline.

[EastSideHBG]

Developer plans shopping center

Friday, August 13, 2004
BY ELLEN LYON
Of The Patriot-News

Plans for a new shopping center anchored by a Giant supermarket along Route 39 will be submitted to South Hanover Twp. officials later this month, according to the developer.

Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. wants to build the 100,000-square-foot center on 16.5 acres halfway between Hersheypark Drive and Interstate 81, said Tom Richey, the company's vice president of development and construction.

The real estate investment trust has an option to buy the land and is negotiating with other potential tenants for space in the shopping center, he said.

Richey said the plan is for construction to begin late this year and be finished in the third quarter of 2005.

He said the company also plans to build a two-story, 40,000-square-foot orthopedic center on the property for a group of 17 physicians.

Cedar Shopping Centers, based in Port Washington, N.Y., has several properties in central Pennsylvania, including The Point shopping center at Union Deposit Road and Interstate 83, Camp Hill Shopping Mall at Route 15 and Trindle Road, and Fairview Plaza along Old York Road next to Capital City Airport.

The company is making major changes at the Camp Hill Shopping Mall, including construction of a 91,000-square-foot Giant supermarket, which will be the chain's largest store. Also in the works is the addition of a 55,000-square-foot, 14-screen movie theater.

[wrightchr]

hey dave...with all this new construction, there are going to be some major changes needed to the road/highway system here. i noticed that the carlisle pike is being widened from sporting hill road to 581. the whole corridor needs widened to 4 lanes and so does trindle road. PA 39 needs widened as well and there are no traffic lights at any of the major intersections, ie: 81 interchange. i think penndot needs to get a head start on this before the congestion from all these new retail astablishments leads to gridlock.

also, i know that camp hill is replacing walkways and lighting in it's downtown. very similar to the proposal by new cumberland. camp hill recieved a grant from the state last year to place paving stones and create historic pedestrian walkways, but the project hasn't started yet.

[EastSideHBG]

Hey Chris!!! How are things?

Yeah, I heard about that project in CH. Middletown has a similar project going on too. It's so cool how much is going on around here!!! Each part of the metro is getting its own identity with these neat DT/main street projects. Not that they didn't have their own identities before, but it's even more so now.

I totally agree re: the roads. PennDOT and the localities need to get a jump on things ASAP or it's going to be a big mess.

Some recent news:

Forum Place hearing to begin

Bondholders claim they were misled

Sunday, August 15, 2004
BY JACK SHERZER
Of The Patriot-News

When investors bought $75.35 million in bonds that enabled the Dauphin County General Authority to buy Forum Place in 1998, the downtown office building was a moneymaker.

But in 2001, the major tenant in the 10-story building -- the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation -- ended its short-term lease and moved out. A year later, with the building half-empty and no major tenants on the horizon, the authority began defaulting on payments to the bondholders.

The failed venture was the first and only default by a municipal authority in state history. It also raised a question: Did the financial adviser and the investment bank involved in the deal mislead bond buyers about the financial health of Forum Place?

The Securities and Exchange Commission says the deal was misleading, and an administrative law judge in Philadelphia tomorrow is scheduled to begin hearing an estimated two weeks of testimony in the case. A ruling is not expected until February.

Financial adviser Robert Fowler, president of Public Financial Consultants in Lower Paxton Twp., and Philadelphia-based investment bank Dolphin and Bradbury deny any wrongdoing.

An official statement that was part of the bond deal gave the date of the PennDOT lease's expiration, so the agency's departure should not have come as a surprise to anyone, according to filings made by Fowler and the investment bank.

They noted that it was reported in the local media that PennDOT would be moving to the Keystone Building at Commonwealth Avenue and Forster Street in Harrisburg after construction of that building was completed.

PennDOT leased space in Forum Place after the state Transportation Building, where the Keystone Building is now, was rendered unusable after a 1994 fire.

According to Fowler and the bankers, Forum Place could have remained profitable after PennDOT left if the authority had not taken over management of the building less than two years later and botched the job.

"They did a horrendous job of managing it and were unable in three years to get a single lease, when all around them everyone else was leasing their buildings," Fowler said.

The authority -- none of the current members were involved in the 1998 deal -- was not held liable by the SEC, which said the authority had relied on Fowler and the investment bank for guidance.

Fowler also defends his assertions at the time that the state would likely continue to lease space in the building, saying that was the understanding he and others were given by the former head of the state Department of General Services, which handles state leasing.

But the SEC, in a filing in April, disagreed.

"Prospective investors generally were unaware of PennDOT's scheduled move to the Keystone Building and believed that PennDOT was likely to remain at Forum Place beyond the expiration of its lease," the SEC said.

The SEC also claimed that Dolphin and Bradbury gave an inflated vacancy rate for downtown office space and that the official statement with the bond deal didn't give sufficient warning about Forum Place leases.

"The misleading official statement and financial projections, together with the vacancy rate information in the appraisal, misled investors as to the expectation of income necessary to repay the bonds and misled them to believe that PennDOT might renew its lease because there was no other office space available in downtown Harrisburg," the SEC filing said.

In its complaint, the SEC asks that Fowler and the investment bank pay into a special fund for defrauded investors the amount they made from the deal, plus penalties. Fowler and his firm received $102,000, and Dolphin and Bradbury made $753,500 from the deal, according to the SEC.

Authority Chairman H. Michael Liptak said one word describes whether the authority's management of the building caused the problem: "Ridiculous."

"The failure of the building had to do with the fact that the major tenant left after two years as everyone locally knew, but I'm not sure the bondholders knew," Liptak said. "The constant contention that it was the failure of the authority is, in my view, just a smoke screen for the fact that it was an unsound project from the beginning."

Authority members have pointed out that leasing space in Forum Place is tough because of the tax-free nature of the bonds. Ninety percent of the space must be leased to either governmental or nonprofit agencies, making the building dependent on the state, they say.

Liptak said the previous authority board entered into the deal because it was presented in a way that made it look attractive. Under the present leadership, however, Liptak said the authority is committed to providing low-cost financing for schools and governmental entities and is not interested in competing with private businesses in office-building ownership or other projects.

Forum Place is overseen now by a Dauphin County Court-appointed receiver, as requested by the bondholders last year.

One of the first moves by the receiver, again at the bondholders' request, was to hire developer John O. Vartan to manage the building. Vartan had built Forum Place, sold it to the authority and initially managed it until removed by the authority.

Vartan, who also has maintained that Forum Place would have been a success had it not been for improper authority management, has had some luck recently in securing new state leases.

In June, Vartan announced a 10-year lease worth more than $6.3 million with the state Department of Labor and Industry. In May, the Pennsylvania Local Government Commission renewed its lease for another 10 years.

A turnaround is important to bondholders -- primarily large, institutional investors -- who have not received between $2 million and $3 million in bond payments in the past two years, according to their attorney. Those losses never would have happened with proper management, said Philip G. Kircher, an attorney representing Dolphin and Bradbury.

Not only were investors not fully informed, but Robert J. Bradbury, the CEO of Dolphin and Bradbury who is mentioned in the SEC complaint, bought Forum Place bonds because he believed in the deal, Kircher noted.

"[The authority] fired Vartan and did something they had never done before, that is manage an office building, and they managed it right into the ground," Kircher said. "Had the building been properly managed, nobody would be reading about this."

[EastSideHBG]

I had no clue about the new building (in bold). I'll have to see what I can dig up about that.

Vacant commercial space increases, real estate survey finds

Sunday, August 15, 2004

BY DAVID DeKOK
Of The Patriot-News

All good things come to an end, or so they say.

Commercial real estate absorption -- tenants moving into vacant space -- went negative in the Harrisburg area in the second quarter, according to Thomas T. Posavec, a broker for Landmark Commercial Realty Inc. in Lemoyne.

"Things are down a bit," he said. "A couple of things happened.

"EDS [Electronic Data Systems Corp.] pulled out of 60,000 square feet of a building at 275 Grandview Ave. I sold the building, and that's great. Thirty thousand feet are pre-leased.

"But on the negative side," Posavec added, "20,000 square feet were yanked out of a building next door, and 10,000 from a building in Lemoyne."

Posavec said the net EDS-related loss comprised about half of the 112,058 square feet of commercial space in the area that became vacant in the second quarter.

Some positive developments in the quarter didn't count because they involve government agencies and aren't included in Posavec's survey.

One of the biggest of those was the 160,000 square feet occupied by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency in its new headquarters building on Front Street, adjacent to the Dauphin County Bar Association.

Forum Place in downtown Harrisburg landed a tenant and may get another, but neither deal counts when commercial real estate professionals calculate the state of the market.

All three subcategories of the quarterly survey -- Harrisburg, East Shore and West Shore -- showed negative absorption figures, but the West Shore was by far the worst because of the EDS move.

The city, or downtown market, did the best, showing a negative absorption of 2,268 square feet.

Posavec was optimistic about interest in space in some new buildings that are coming to the market soon, including the DiSanto Building on Crums Mill Road and a new office building along North Front Street above Interstate 81 that is owned by Hoffer Properties. He found significant pre-leasing activity in both buildings.

The former PHICO Insurance building in Silver Spring Twp. also is attracting "strong activity" for space that will become available in 2005, according to Posavec. Developer Norman K.A. Hoffer purchased the building from the state Insurance Department for $15 million earlier this year.

PHICO Group, the parent company of PHICO, filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

PHICO, which had been one of the nation's largest medical malpractice insurers, was subsequently taken over by the Insurance Depaertment.

[EastSideHBG]

CONSUMER AFFAIRS

Shoppes shaping up

'Lifestyle center' features upscale chain stores

Wednesday, August 18, 2004
BY ELLEN LYON
Of The Patriot-News

Construction of the Shoppes at Susquehanna Marketplace is so far along that the yellow hard hats passed out at yesterday's media tour were just for show.

Damon's Grill, one of two restaurants that will bookend the horseshoe-shaped shopping center off the Progress Avenue exit of Interstate 81, is already open.

The Jos. A. Bank, Bombay and Starbucks stores are expected to open in the next month. All but one of the other 10 tenants who have signed leases should follow before the center's grand opening celebration on Oct. 30.

The likely exception will be Macaroni Grill, whose space at the end opposite Damon's probably won't be ready for business until a little later, according to Mark Pottschmidt, head of planning and development for Stanbery Development.

The 109,000-square-foot Shoppes at Susquehanna is Stanbery Development's third "lifestyle center." The Columbus, Ohio-based retail development company opened its first two centers last year near Philadelphia and in Denville, N.J., and has three other centers under development.

Lifestyle center refers to a shopping center concept that relies on a core group of national retailers targeting the same type of upscale consumer rather than on one or two big anchor stores, explains Stanbery spokeswoman Lisa Chapman.

"We really don't have an anchor. Our tenant mix is our anchor," Pottschmidt said.

Indeed, such Shoppes at Susquehanna tenants as Talbot's and The Children's Place also lease space at other Stanbery lifestyle centers.

Talbot's, which is opening a three-in-one store featuring its regular, petite and women's collections, does careful market research before opening a new location, which lets other upscale retailers know that the area can support them, Pottschmidt said.

The center already has achieved an approximately 60 percent occupancy rate, Chapman said.

For tenants Ann Taylor Loft, Chico's, Coldwater Creek, J. Jill, Jos. A. Bank and Williams-Sonoma, this will be their first retail presence in the Harrisburg area.

Bombay, which closed its home interiors store in the Camp Hill Shopping Mall about a month ago, will reopen at the new center, store manager Teresa Griffin said.

High on a hill off Valley Road, between the Cracker Barrel restaurant and Regal Stadium 14 theaters, the center offers a panoramic view of Interstate 81 and the valley beyond.

"My favorite part of the development is the view," Pottschmidt said.

An impressive tumbled stone retaining wall standing 30 feet high in some places, which Pottschmidt calls "the Great Wall of Susquehanna," provides "a great entry feature for us," he said.

The 25-store center "is the largest commercial development in Susquehanna Twp. in over 20 years," Township Manager Gary Myers noted. "It's an ideal spot. It doesn't impose on any residential areas. It's by the interstate. It adds tremendously to the tax base. It does not put a burden on the school district."

The center's grand opening celebration will begin with a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. Oct. 30 and feature strolling entertainers, face painting, costume characters and prize drawings. A $5 pumpkin painting workshop will benefit Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania, which teaches financial literacy, economic education, career awareness and life skills in area schools.

A VIP preview gala on Oct. 29, with jazz band and food, will benefit PinnacleHealth WomanCare's mammography voucher program for women who do not have insurance coverage or money to pay for their tests. Gala tickets cost $50.

[harrisburger]

i don't get the arrangement of the "shoppes..." it is just a glorified strip mall on a hill. you would think upscale shops would rather have a central courtyard-type plaza than a strip mall. and the worst part is that it doesn't even look nice. fake stone, pre-cast, all in all pretty crappy, i'd rather shop in crapital city. but i guess i'll visit once to see what it's like, just to eat at damon's. i just got a job at the damon's which is opening on the pike, so i could eat there for free...

on another note, i just visited downtown lancaster for the first time in my life tuesday afternoon. i was shocked. i went with my sister to eat at the central market, which is now my favorite building in the area (i love victorian industrial buildings). walking around town afterwards, i realized just how large lancaster is. i was always brought up with the notion that harrisburg is the "city" of the region, and york and lancaster are its little siblings. after going through endless vintage, book and other stores i was kind of depressed. the day before i was walking around harrisburg, and walking in lancaster made me realize what harrisburg could and should become. lancaster was so busy on a tuesday afternoon, with residents, tourists, and businessmen alike. meanwhile, restaurant row is filled with mostly business-types. everything about the city amazed me. the moldings above the buildings, the cafes, the interaction between the stores and the street...it made me think harrisburg isn't as great as i thought it was...

[EastSideHBG]

Wow, I have the complete opposite feeling when I am in Lancaster. In fact, it's my least favorite of the tri-cities. I guess the difference in feelings you have, harrisburger, is because HBG is the business center of the area, so it will feel a little more "sterile" compared to the others IMO. I also think the overall vibe is very different too. Although Lancaster's metro is growing like a weed, I always felt like I was in a small, quaint town no matter where I was in the metro. I have never really liked their DT either. It's okay and I am not saying I hate it or anything, but I never liked it's overall look and feel. Different strokes for different folks I guess, and I am glad you enjoyed it, harrisburger. I want all of the cities in this region to succeed so go ahead Lancaster, keep on doing your thing!!!!

i'd rather shop in crapital city

How dare you. :nono:

[wrightchr]

^ lol...i think lancaster's DT is very nice. it's old colonial and victorian architecture compensates for the lack of mid-highrise development. in comparison to harrisburg, i don't think you can really stack lancaster or york against hbg's DT. the CBD in harrisburg is huge in comparison, on a par with buffalo, hartford, or richmond. lancaster and york both have more quaint, condensed DT's, with a very small town feel that makes them attractive.

on another note, i went to damon's last sunday and the service was terrible. the food was great, but i think i'll wait a month or so until i go back. if it sucks the second time i'll take my business elsewhere. i think they might just have the typical grand opening jitters or something? i hope the one on the one on the carlisle pike turns out better. harrisburger....i have a good friend, greg sim, who will be working at the new one. i think he's doing the entertainment??? maybe you'll run into him.

[EastSideHBG]

Woman beaten near Capitol

Panhandler accused of assault with pipe

Friday, August 20, 2004
BY THEODORE DECKER
Of The Patriot-News

In a random attack just steps from the Capitol, an angry Harrisburg panhandler beat a woman in the face with a 2-foot pipe Wednesday afternoon, police say.

Capitol Police rushed to her aid and may have saved the woman's life, city police said.

Dwayne S. Bass, 48, is jailed in lieu of $1 million bail in the 3:50 p.m. attack that occurred on the same corner where a homeless man randomly stabbed another woman more than a year ago.

While eerily similar in some respects, the two incidents are not related, police said.

Police said Wednesday's assault was witnessed by several people and captured on surveillance videotape at the Capitol.

According to city police, Jasmine Minnaugh, 21, of Harrisburg, was walking north on North Third Street with another woman when Bass approached them.

Bass, who has lived in the 200 block of State Street and 400 block of Muench Street, asked for money and cigarettes, police said.

Minnaugh told him, "No," police said.

"That's what they all say," Bass replied, according to police. Police said Bass, who is 6 feet 2 inches tall, pulled out the metal pipe and smashed Minnaugh across the nose.

A Capitol officer witnessed the attack and rushed across North Third Street to help Minnaugh, who had fallen to the ground and was still being beaten by Bass, police said.

The officer pulled his gun and ordered Bass to drop the pipe, police said. After more Capitol officers arrived and Bass still refused to surrender, the officers knocked him down and took him into custody, police said.

Minnaugh was taken to Harrisburg Hospital, where she was treated and released.

Bass is charged with aggravated assault, robbery, resisting arrest and possession of an instrument of crime.

City authorities said Capitol police would have been justified in killing Bass to stop the vicious attack. Instead, they said, the officers saved Minnaugh from severe injuries while showing remarkable restraint in arresting Bass.

"That's what our officers are here to do," said Frank Kane, a spokesman for the Department of General Services, which oversees Capitol police. "I think they really hit the right balance."

The assault occurred at the exact spot where a muttering homeless man stabbed a retired schoolteacher in March 2003 without provocation.

After severely wounding Barbara Neff of Mechanicsburg, Anthony Travis walked to the city police station and surrendered with the bloody knife still in his hand.

Neff survived. Travis, 40, is serving 10 to 20 years in state prison.

[EastSideHBG]

Interesting...


This area's funny, but looks aren't everything

Saturday, August 21, 2004

BY DANIEL VICTOR
Of The Patriot-News

Did you hear the one about the Harrisburg area being the funniest "city" in the state?

(How funny is it?)

It's so funny that lawmakers in the Capitol are starting their own reality show.

And what's the deal with the Susquehanna River? You'd be better off swimming in chocolate milk.

Thank you, thank you. But seriously folks, the region is a hotbed for humor, if a survey by Shoebox, a greeting card line of Hallmark, is to be believed.

The somewhat scientific survey placed the Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York region atop the state standings, and 27th in the nation.

Results were based on personal interviews with people who claim to be funny, how often people "consume" humor like television sitcoms and newspaper comics, and -- the kicker -- sales of the brand's humorous greeting cards per capita.

But the "humor index" is no laughing matter, Hallmark spokeswoman Rachel Bolton said.

The company hired Simmons Market Research to analyze more than 27,000 respondents nationwide, and Bolton insisted the findings are accurate.

"To me, it would seem to reflect compatible, happy kind of folks you'd want to be around," she said.

Karen Gray, a comedian/actress from Harrisburg, said there's one big problem with the survey: People who buy funny greeting cards just can't think of any jokes on their own.

"That means we're not funny at all," she said. "We're buying humor. That just means we're good consumers of humor."

Gray did say that local audiences tend to be very intelligent and receptive.

"I definitely feel that in this area, people know how to enjoy a healthy dosage of humor in their lives," she said.

Sonya King, a comedian from Dillsburg, said she was a little surprised at the ranking, since there aren't many comedy clubs in the area.

But she could see the logic behind it. You'd have to have a sense of humor to deal with the potholes and "ungodly amounts of snow," she said.

"Oh, and the Amish," she said. "Just because it's a pretty funny concept that people travel around and go to Lancaster to see people farm."

She even made a joke about the Amish: "A guy was out in Amish country, and he saw a sign that said 'Topless Ladies.' So he went in and sure enough...no bonnets."

Ba-dum-ching.

Coming in at first place was Mankato, Minn., a college town of 31,477.

Rhode Island was named the funniest state, and Pennsylvania placed 27th.

Surprisingly, Bolton said, the cold-weather states had better senses of humor than their warmer counterparts.

Hawaii finished last, while California tied for 43rd with Mississippi and Louisiana.

David Black, president of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber, said collecting any such honors is good for the city.

Businesses are increasingly concerned with quality of life when choosing where to build, he said, and a reputation of having a good sense of humor could factor in.

"I think it's something we should be proud of," he said. "In today's life, you have to laugh or sometimes you'll just cry."

/\
So true, so true *sigh*

[wrightchr]

^ haha...that's funny (no pun intended)