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

[SouthCentralPA]

Harrisburg University Tower
Another angle also taken on 08/07/2021.

[SouthCentralPA]

2020 Census numbers out today:

https://mtgis-portal.geo.census.gov/...ed2b2fd7ff6eb7

Cumberland County +24k people (10.2%)
Dauphin County +18K people (6.8%)
Lebanon County +10K people (7.3%)
Lancaster County +34K people (6.5%)
York County +22K people (4.9%)

Good growth (108,000+) around the entire capital region. Great to see!

[SouthCentralPA]

I was in Lancaster yesterday and took this photo of the new Stadium Row Apartments. Right next to the baseball stadium.

[SouthCentralPA]

State Archives Building
Photos taken by me on my phone on 08/28/2021. Anyone know what that blue stuff on the one wall is? Some kind of waterproofing maybe?





Harrisburg University Tower
Photos taken by me on my phone on 08/28/2021. This one keeps getting taller! They were working on a Saturday when I was there and it looked like the were installing the construction elevator. Also, looks like they starting fireproofing the steel beams on the lower floors.

[summersm343]

A lot of great development going on in Harrisburg and Lancaster!

[SouthCentralPA]

Originally Posted by summersm343

A lot of great development going on in Harrisburg and Lancaster!

Agreed, it's great to see!

[SouthCentralPA]

https://theburgnews.com/news/new-dev...arrisburg-lots

In a meeting on Friday, the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority chose the city-based development team of Chris and Erica Bryce and Harrisburg Commercial Interiors (HCI) to complete the unfinished MarketPlace development, consisting of 67 lots sprinkled between Reily Street and the Broad Street Market area.

The unanimous vote gave the developers permission to move ahead with their plan, which includes a mix of single-family townhouses, small apartment buildings and mixed-use commercial space.

Lots of info in this article. Great to see!

Good document with multiple renderings.

http://www.redevelophbg.org/download...w2021_0818.pdf

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by SouthCentralPA

State Archives Building
Photos taken by me on my phone on 08/28/2021. Anyone know what that blue stuff on the one wall is? Some kind of waterproofing maybe?

Yeah that's a water or vapor barrier. Thanks for all of the updates!

[SouthCentralPA]

Originally Posted by deja vu

Yeah that's a water or vapor barrier. Thanks for all of the updates!

Thanks for confirming. I was thinking that but wasn't 100% sure. And you're welcome! I enjoy doing it.

[SouthCentralPA]

Harrisburg University Tower
Photos taken by me on my phone on 09/04/2021.

[EastSideHBG]

Federal courthouse building in Harrisburg is for sale, with bids starting at $3 million
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/0...-for-sale.html

An informative document about the building:

https://realestatesales.gov/ATTACHME...rgIFBFINAL.pdf

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by SouthCentralPA

2020 Census numbers out today:

https://mtgis-portal.geo.census.gov/...ed2b2fd7ff6eb7

Cumberland County +24k people (10.2%)
Dauphin County +18K people (6.8%)
Lebanon County +10K people (7.3%)
Lancaster County +34K people (6.5%)
York County +22K people (4.9%)

Good growth (108,000+) around the entire capital region. Great to see!

Question for the folks who know the region better, as I don't.

What would it take to pull Perry County more fully into the Capital Region's orbit? When you look at a map, as the crow flies, it looks like it's literally 5 miles from downtown Harrisburg, yet it never gets mentions as a part of the area in a meaningful way.

It also just looks like an extension of Cumberland County.

My question comes from the perspective of thinking about ways the state can enable growth in areas adjacent to places that are prospering. I assume Perry County is is poorer and less educated than say Cumberland and Dauphin Counties, but it should be able to benefit from it's proximity to the increasing prosperity in the greater capital region...and one would hope political leaders were actively looking for ways to do so.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Question for the folks who know the region better, as I don't.

What would it take to pull Perry County more fully into the Capital Region's orbit? When you look at a map, as the crow flies, it looks like it's literally 5 miles from downtown Harrisburg, yet it never gets mentions as a part of the area in a meaningful way.

It also just looks like an extension of Cumberland County.

My question comes from the perspective of thinking about ways the state can enable growth in areas adjacent to places that are prospering. I assume Perry County is is poorer and less educated than say Cumberland and Dauphin Counties, but it should be able to benefit from it's proximity to the increasing prosperity in the greater capital region...and one would hope political leaders were actively looking for ways to do so.

It's very rural, not easy to travel throughout it (many of the "main roads" are tiny and through a lot of hills and backwoods) and the mentality is nothing like Harrisburg and about as opposite as you can get. It is a part of the MSA and folks from Perry County do work in Harrisburg but many people want nothing to do with Harrisburg and vice versa; in many ways PC is the land that time forgot and that's how the residents want it.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

It's very rural, not easy to travel throughout it (many of the "main roads" are tiny and through a lot of hills and backwoods) and the mentality is nothing like Harrisburg and about as opposite as you can get. It is a part of the MSA and folks from Perry County do work in Harrisburg but many people want nothing to do with Harrisburg and vice versa; in many ways PC is the land that time forgot and that's how the residents want it.

Well then let me restate, as it's a small county.

Would it make sense to foster development in the SE portion of the county that would connect it better to the region. In a way, it would be easy to change the overall lean and attitude in the county given it's so small if you could promote growth in a few townships.

I mean, Chester County outside of Philly was a Republican stronghold. Never voted for a Democrat until Clinton. I don't think Obama even won the county. She won by 9 points. Biden took the county by 18.

That's not just because everyone in the county changed their mind (though many did because it was center-right at most), but also because 1000s of people move their every year and they are decidedly more liberal than the natives.

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

It's very rural, not easy to travel throughout it (many of the "main roads" are tiny and through a lot of hills and backwoods) and the mentality is nothing like Harrisburg and about as opposite as you can get. It is a part of the MSA and folks from Perry County do work in Harrisburg but many people want nothing to do with Harrisburg and vice versa; in many ways PC is the land that time forgot and that's how the residents want it.

When I lived in Union County (Lewisburg) I remember having to drive through Perry County (along US-15) for work in Harrisburg and thinking exactly that.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Well then let me restate, as it's a small county.

Would it make sense to foster development in the SE portion of the county that would connect it better to the region. In a way, it would be easy to change the overall lean and attitude in the county given it's so small if you could promote growth in a few townships.

I mean, Chester County outside of Philly was a Republican stronghold. Never voted for a Democrat until Clinton. I don't think Obama even won the county. She won by 9 points. Biden took the county by 18.

That's not just because everyone in the county changed their mind (though many did because it was center-right at most), but also because 1000s of people move their every year and they are decidedly more liberal than the natives.

That is a tough comparison because Chester County is still very connected topography-wise whereas Perry County is not and that makes a huge difference. If you head just north of Harrisburg you are immediately hit with the middle of nowhere/country feeling, forests, mountains... And development is not wanted there, they want it to stay that way and in this case you would create an opposite effect and would push people away from your cause.

If you're familiar with Pittsburgh it's a similar comparison and once you go up and over a hill you may be in a totally different world even if you are still just only miles away.

Originally Posted by deja vu

When I lived in Union County (Lewisburg) I remember having to drive through Perry County (along US-15) for work in Harrisburg and thinking exactly that.

Ha ha oh yeah! I can tell you a lot of stories and one of my favorites would be when they would refer to Harrisburg as "the big city" and I would say, "Well than you would really be blown away by Philly or NYC." But the concept of those cities would be the equivalent of visiting another planet

PC is an interesting place. Not my cup of tea at all but it still amazes at times how the HBG area developed.

[SouthCentralPA]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Well then let me restate, as it's a small county.

Would it make sense to foster development in the SE portion of the county that would connect it better to the region. In a way, it would be easy to change the overall lean and attitude in the county given it's so small if you could promote growth in a few townships.

As someone who lives in the Harrisburg area, I think that EastSideHBG is right on the assessment of Perry County. I think that the only places that would make sense/be the easiest would be Marysville and/or Duncannon. And that is because they are easily connected to Cumberland and Dauphin by 11/15 and 322 since they're along the river. The rest of Perry is separated from Cumberland by the Appalachians so it definitely feels different. And it's mostly farms but they definitely feel more rural than the farms in Cumberland (at least the ones that remain..).

So, like EastSideHBG said, I'm not sure there is a want for Perry to become more of the Harrisburg metro - even though A LOT of people drive down to Cumberland and Dauphin for work, they want to live somewhere that is different.

[EastSideHBG]

I am surprised by this, as they have always seemed to be committed to Central PA. But good news for us down here and at least they are staying within PA:

https://www.pennlive.com/life/2021/0...ladelphia.html

[SouthCentralPA]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

I am surprised by this, as they have always seemed to be committed to Central PA. But good news for us down here and at least they are staying within PA:

https://www.pennlive.com/life/2021/0...ladelphia.html

I was going to post this but you beat me to it.

But I had heard about this a few months ago but it wasn't 100% happening back then. Definitely a blow for Central PA as it sounds like they're looking to get rid of 4 commercial properties, but like you said at least they're staying in PA, which makes it good for all of us!

And the article says they'll still have some sort of corporate presence around here, so that's better than nothing.

[SouthCentralPA]

https://theburgnews.com/news/develop...own-harrisburg

Current site:


Proposed rendering:


I'm not really sad to see these two building get razed as they are pretty run-down and not very architecturally distinct. Plus they were give the green-light to be razed 3 years ago but it never happened.

Personally, I like the proposed design because it contrasts well to all the old buildings. I feel like Harrisburg needs some modern buildings because it has so many old buildings (which I love!) and this seems to be a good spot because the existing buildings aren't that special. But it sounds like HARB isn't a fan and is asking for new designs the matches the surroundings better, so it'll probably change. But I hope the project goes forward in whatever iteration!