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

[EastSideHBG]

This company is really gobbling up the land around here, aren't they?

BIZ MINUTE

Shopping center plan takes shape

Friday, January 20, 2006

Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. said yesterday that it has a contract to purchase 42 acres along Walnut Bottom Road in South Middleton Twp. near Carlisle for development of a 120,000-square-foot shopping center.

The Port Washington, N.Y., company said it plans to develop the property in partnership with WAM Enterprises Inc. of Lemoyne.

Cedar will pay about $8.25 million for the property. Closing is expected in the second quarter.

Cedar also reported that it has closed on the purchase of 21/2 acres along Route 11 near Carlisle for a small development project that will be done jointly with WAM.

The company added that it has a contract to buy 4.3 acres at Routes 147 and 225 in Halifax for $600,000. A project planned for that site calls for construction of a Rite Aid drugstore, two fast-food restaurants and space for an additional tenant.

Cedar owns the Camp Hill Shopping Center, The Point shopping center in Lower Paxton Twp. and several other retail properties in the area.

[EastSideHBG]

What is the Future of the Walnut Street Bridge?

And a discussion I started in CE about CV schools:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=96859

[EastSideHBG]

It was on the news yesterday that now they don't even care about getting it restored exactly like it was, they just want something up so the bridge is useable again. I totally agree and think this should've been done long, long ago...


Group moves ahead with plans to restore 'Old Shakey'

Saturday, January 21, 2006
BY JERRY L. GLEASON
Of The Patriot-News

Ten years after an ice jam destroyed the western span of the Walnut Street Bridge, a citizens group is renewing its efforts to restore the historic structure.

The People's Bridge Coalition has raised $1 million in state government grants to pay for a design study for restoring the bridge, and in March it will begin a campaign to raise the $15 million to do the work.

"We're optimistic that we will have the money in hand by March 2007," said Christopher Gulotta of the Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority, which worked with the coalition to develop the financial strategy.

The plan is to raise $15 million from public and private sources, with $12 million coming from federal, state and county sources; $500,000 from a community fundraising campaign that begins in April; $1 million from foundations; and $1.5 million from corporations.

"We have identified possible funding sources and have already submitted some applications for grants," Gulotta said.

The coalition will seek grants designated for economic development, parks and recreation, and historic preservation, he said.

"We think the bridge project is a perfect fit for that funding," Gulotta said. "It will link parkways, bikeways and walking paths, and restore a historic structure."

The Walnut Street Bridge, an iron truss structure popularly known as "Old Shakey" and as "The People's Bridge," opened in 1889. Crossing City Island, it linked the East and West shores. After being damaged in the flood accompanying Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972, the bridge closed to vehicle traffic and became a pedestrian link to City Island.

Three sections of the bridge's western span were destroyed on Jan. 20, 1996, during a flood that also damaged the eastern span. The state Department of Transportation spent $6 million to repair and restore the eastern section between City Island and downtown Harrisburg.

[EastSideHBG]

My g/f, my sister and I missed this by a mere 45 min. Yep, I couldn't have picked a better time to get the hell out of here; it's getting far too crazy, far too violent. I'm sure Restaurant Row will be affected for a long time to come...


Slaying worries Restaurant Row crowd

Harrisburg police released this image from video of a man sought for questioning in yesterday morning's slaying on Second Street.

Sunday, January 22, 2006
BY IRVIN KITTRELL III
Of The Patriot-News

Jason Saneverino became a little uneasy last night on Harrisburg's Restaurant Row when he was told a man was shot and killed early yesterday morning across the street from where he and his wife were standing.

"It's a little freaky," the Mechanicsburg man said as he puffed a cigarette across the street from the Second Street Garage.

City police said Ricardo Perez of Harrisburg was killed around 2:30 a.m. at Second and Cranberry streets as nightclubs and bars were emptying. Perez's age was not known last night, police said.

Police arrested two men who they say might have witnessed the killing of Perez, of the 1200 block of Derry Street. Each man, one from York and the other from Lancaster, was charged with carrying a firearm without a license.

"It's a shame a life was taken; it's a shame it happened close by," said Nick Laus, who owns Cafe Fresco, which opened about six months ago across the street from the garage. "When it's that close, you hope it won't affect business."

Bobby Thiemann, a manager of Fisaga, also across the street from the garage, was concerned that a killing in downtown Harrisburg could halt the success Restaurant Row has enjoyed.

"It's going to hurt all the businesses," he said. "We're trying to get people into the city, not to scare them off."

When the shooting occurred, officers were crossing the street toward a crowd that had gathered in front of the garage, police said. As they crossed the street, shots rang out from the crowd, and police found Perez on the sidewalk.

An ambulance crew took the man to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The motive for Perez's killing was unclear last night.

William Brandon, 35, of Queen Street in York, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, illegal possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm without a license. Curtis Diego, 24, of Lancaster, was charged with carrying a firearm without a license and hindering apprehension.

Brandon kicked and punched Perez before he was shot, police said. He and Diego had come to Harrisburg together in a car driven by Diego, police said. Officers said they found two handguns in the car.

Both men awaited arraignment last night in night court.

Police are looking for two other people who might have witnessed the shooting. The two were seen leaving the area.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call city police at 255-3131. Dauphin County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward up to $2,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the shooting. Callers, who remain anonymous, may call (800) 262-3080.

The homicide was the second in Dauphin County this year, following last year's total of 13.

[EastSideHBG]

As State Archives fill up, officials seek display space

Monday, January 23, 2006
BY JACK SHERZER
Of The Patriot-News

Its smooth, gray limestone walls tower 18 stories above downtown Harrisburg.

No windows, other than a thin strip of glass blocks up the middle of its narrow sides, mar its clean, rectangular lines. No signs trumpet its identity.

The simplicity of the tower, reminiscent of the monolith in "2001: A Space Odyssey," is all the more striking when viewed against the more ornate state buildings that surround it. But what's truly striking are the treasures stored behind the unadorned facade of the Pennsylvania State Archives tower.

Perhaps the best-known treasure is the charter given by England's King Charles II to William Penn, as well as an early draft containing what is thought to be the first mention of the state's name, spelled "Pensilvania."

Almost 13 miles of metal shelving hold the parchments and other papers covering virtually every aspect of the commonwealth's rich history, most of it tucked in sturdy cardboard boxes.

Special containers hold the first maps marking how counties and homesteads were carved out of the state's woodlands. There are also photographs, film and audio tapes -- in short, all the ingredients to ensure that long-ago lives and deeds are not forgotten.

The state Historical and Museum Commission said it is looking at options for upgrading The State Museum. Plans could include relocating the archives tower, which sits at Third and Forster streets.

One proposal, which could cost $200 million, would entail building a parking garage on the tower site and moving the archives elsewhere in the Harrisburg area, perhaps on state land along Elmerton Avenue on the city-Susquehanna Twp. line.

Those who work or study in the archives say it badly needs a larger public space for research, said David Haury, director of the state Bureau of Archives. Haury said the hope is to create space for displaying items.

Such items include: Civil War muster rolls; state National Guard unit lists; treaties inked by William Penn and leaders of Indian tribes; the report detailing the state police's first year of operation, dated Dec. 10, 1906; and ledgers detailing coal mine accidents, with names and ethnic backgrounds. Such information could be invaluable for historians and genealogists.

Those using the archives can find unexpected gems.

"I was pulling some records for a unit that my great uncle had served in during World War I," said Michael Hengst, 47, of Lower Paxton Twp. "And there is a large picture of his unit, and I was able to pick him out."

Hengst, for whom genealogy is a hobby, writes a newsletter that he sends to about 120 family members. He frequently searches state records.

"I had two ancestors in the Civil War, and when you bring out the original muster sheets and see their names on there, it just brings to life somebody that existed 130, 140 years ago," he said, adding that the rolls included physical descriptions of his relatives. "It gets emotional, to be able to say that was a part of me that was there at one time."

Early maps show the first homesteads, farms and towns.

"We can't find your house here," said Harry F. Parker, chief of the archives and manuscript division. "But we can find who originally had the land your house was on 300 years ago."

Despite having a rich trove of archives, Pennsylvania didn't start formally collecting the materials until 1904.

"For most states, the archives came around long after the states were formed," Haury said. "In this part of the country, we had a lot of private historical societies that collected things. ... State archives are mostly a 20th-century phenomenon."

The tower -- 20 stories counting the basement and the ground floor with its small public research area -- was completed in 1964.

Though the archives keep only about 3 percent of the records produced by state agencies (the Legislature has its own record-keeping system), the archives average about 3,000 new pages of information a year.

All this record-keeping means the tower has filled about 90 percent of its 80,000-cubic-foot capacity, Haury said. Though microfilming or computerized scanning might seem to be a way to maximize storage, Haury said those processes cost more than keeping the original records.

James M. Beidler, a freelance writer and lecturer on genealogy and former executive director of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, welcomed the idea of a new archives building with expanded research areas.

Beidler recalled his excitement when he looked up land records of an ancestor in Berks County who bought a farm in 1747 that had been owned by the man's twin brother, who had died. He found that the sons of William Penn were involved in the transaction, and records listed the name of the second husband of the deceased brother's wife.

"It's what we call putting the flesh on the bones of your ancestor," Beidler said. The original documents from hundreds of years ago shed light on occupations, living conditions and other details.

"You want to put your particular ancestor in the context of his family," Beidler said. "And then in the context of the community, and finally in the context of the larger history that was going on all around him in the community, the state and the world."

[EastSideHBG]

HARRISBURG

Downtown business 'very brisk' after death

Monday, January 23, 2006
BY CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Of The Patriot-News

It was business as usual on Restaurant Row over the weekend despite the shooting death Saturday morning of a Harrisburg man at Second and Cranberry streets, according to businessmen downtown.

Authorities reported no developments yesterday in the investigation in the death of Ricardo Perez, no age given, of the 1200 block of Derry Street. Perez was killed about 2:30 a.m.

"The police are still following leads and trying to locate witnesses. It is still early. The police are working hard on it," Dauphin County District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. said last night.

On Saturday, police arrested two men suspected of having witnessed the shooting. William Brandon, 35, of Queen Street, York, and Curtis Diego, 24, of Lancaster, were each charged with gun violations. A night court spokeswoman said both were in the Dauphin County Prison. Bail was set at $90,000 for Diego and $100,000 for Brandon.

No other details of the shooting were available last night.

Business was reported to be normal at the city's Second Street hot spots Saturday night.

"It was a very brisk evening. It seemed normal. We were packed all night," said Nick Laus, who owns Cafe Fresco, just down the street from the site of the shooting. It was busy enough that Laus kept the bar open until 2 a.m., an hour later than usual.

At Molly Brannigans, near Second and Walnut streets, manager Drew Wood said he was surprised how busy the place was Saturday night.

"I thought it would be slow. It wasn't. It was almost normal," Wood said.

Wood and Laus said they didn't hear many customers talking about the shooting.

"I don't think a lot of people had heard about it yet," Laus said.

"It could as easily happen in New Cumberland or in Philadelphia," Wood said. "It shouldn't keep anyone from coming downtown."

Ron Kamionka, who owns a number of downtown clubs, said, "It is an extremely isolated incident. I don't think it will change people's habits of coming into town."

Laus said, "It was a sad thing that happened, but I don't think it will affect downtown."

In Lebanon, authorities reported no developments in the Saturday slaying of a man as he walked home from a neighborhood bar.

David Kern, 47, of the 100 block of Guilford Street, Lebanon, was assaulted and killed in an alley in the 500 block of Arnold Street, police said. No other details were available.

CHRIS A. COUROGEN: 975-9784 or ccourogen@patriot-news.com

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Anyone with information about the Saturday morning shooting in Harrisburg is asked to call city police at 255-3131. Dauphin County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward up to $2,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the killing. Callers, who remain anonymous, may leave tips at (800) 262-3080.

[wrightchr]

^ sorry to hear about these shootings. it's very uncharacteristic of downtown. i really like the idea of a new archieves building but i wish the state museum would build adjacent to it...like an enclosed all glass tower surrounding the original structure, with parking of course. i would like to see the archieves stay in downtown and add amenities to the state museum. oh well, i guess we'll see what happens. for $200+ million, i think just about anything could be accomplished.

on another note, i'm back in the US...stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA. i'll be coming home on leave in about a week or so. sorry to hear your considering leaving the area Dave, but i totally understand. i might be moving to the DC area with my wife and daughter if i can get transferred to Ft. Meade or another location. we'll see. there are just a lot more jobs in that area, especially for the military.

[EastSideHBG]

/\
I'm glad to see you are back in the states, Chris! And I agree, and Baltimore/DC is at the top of my list too. In fact I will be there for a few interviews in a few days...

[EastSideHBG]

If you haven't been near the site lately they have been making great progress. Displacing 850 workers is a lot of people, though, and I am sure DT will be a mess for the first few weeks LOL

CAPITOL

State workers face longer trek to work

Wednesday, January 25, 2006
BY DAVID DeKOK
Of The Patriot-News

Demolition of the Health and Welfare underground parking garage in the Capitol Complex is expected to begin in February or March, meaning 850 state workers will have to park elsewhere.

The garage at the corner of Commonwealth and North streets, across from the Keystone Building, is being torn down to make way for the Commonwealth Judicial Center, which will house the Commonwealth Court courtrooms and judges chambers.

It also would include the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, which supervises state, county and local courts, as well as administrative offices for the Supreme, Commonwealth and Superior appellate courts.

Todd Garrison, deputy secretary for project management at the Department of General Services, said state employees who park in the garage will be provided spaces in the U.S. Postal Service parking lot off 10th and Market streets or in the Park-Mor lot at the end of 10th Street beyond the Mulberry Street Bridge.

That's about a mile away. One state worker said it took him 15 minutes to walk between the lot and the Keystone Building.

The state intends to provide buses.

"We will be running shuttle buses from 5:30 to 9:30 a.m. at 12-15 minute intervals," Garrison said. "And then in the afternoon from 2:30 to 6 p.m."

Drop off/pick-up points along the route will include the Irvis Building, Finance Building, and Health and Welfare Building. Three bus shelters will be built.

Garrison said the safety of state employees is being taken into account. Lighting and fencing is being added to the parking lots, and Capitol Police will provide lot security. Capitol Police will direct traffic at 10th and Market streets in the morning and afternoon.

Those lots will be used by the people who used to park at the garage until a garage is completed at Commonwealth and Forster.

Garrison said the goal is to move people into the new facility by Labor Day.

Work on the judicial center is to begin after the new garage opens.

[EastSideHBG]

We'll see how long this lasts...


HARRISBURG

Council approves $59.12 M budget

Wednesday, January 25, 2006
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

Harrisburg finally has a budget for 2006, but a portion of it is already in the red after the City Council struck down a proposal to raise trash rates.

The council voted 4-3 to pass Harrisburg's $59.12 million spending plan for this year. The plan does not carry a tax increase.

The council voted 6-1 to reject a proposal to raise trash collection rates by $1.25 a month for residential customers. The new rate would have risen to $13 a month.

The move leaves an estimated $344,000 hole in the city's $4.24 million sanitation fund.

"We'll try to work with the reduction in funding and keep our fingers crossed that there's no unanticipated expenses," city spokesman Randy King said.

King would not rule out a veto of the budget by Mayor Stephen R. Reed, which would require five votes on the council to override.

The budget already has been delayed a month after the council adjourned in December without passing a spending plan. Reed has 10 days to issue a veto.

In voting down the increase in trash fees, council members said raising the rates amounted to a back-door tax increase.

Members said the trash increase would be an added burden coming on the heels of a recent 15 percent hike in water rates. That hike was approved separately by the Harrisburg Authority and is not subject to oversight by the council.

Under the water rate hike, which takes effect this month, the average family of four using 60,000 gallons of water annually would see an increase of about $4 a month, or about $48 a year. The family's total annual bill would rise to about $360.

"I just don't think the residents can take another hit in the form of increases in utility bills," council member Gloria Martin-Roberts said.

"It's a form of a tax, no matter how you look at it," council member Susan Brown Wilson said.

The city budget represents a 2-percent spending decrease compared to 2005. The belt-tightening did away with $1.6 million in property tax rebates, which were given to landowners last year.

The council approved an amendment adding $150,000 for snow removal and overtime.

In an effort to reduce overtime costs, most city streets received a single pass by a plow the day after a Dec. 12 storm that dropped 6 to 8 inches of snow.

Snow remaining on streets became packed down and some of it iced over, prompting numerous complaints.

The council cited the stumbling response to the storm when it voted down the original budget on Dec. 20, then adjourned for the year.

JOHN LUCIEW: 255-8171 or jluciew@patriot-news.com

THE BOTTOM LINE

The 2006 budget calls for no tax increase.

The owner of a house assessed at $100,000 would still pay $850 in city property taxes under the 8.5-mill combined levy on land and improvements.

**********

I can second the complaints about the snow removal, as they did a HORRIBLE job during that storm. Exactly like the article stated the streets iced over, and for weeks we had to put up with that.

[EastSideHBG]

With each passing day I care about this project even less. 1) Should a museum really have office space in it? If it can't stand on its own then I say it is no good. 2) Like the article states, the City has far greater needs for this money. 3) Why is the City always stepping up to the plate when it comes to big projects? Where are the private developers at?!? 4) ALL of our museums are faliures, period. And not because of what they offer but because of how they are ran. Sadly, I fear that this one will be no different.

I say screw the museum idea and build a nice retail/restaurant complex on the island instead.

And yet again this goes to show just how much potential is here and how it is still all going to waste because people just can't get things done correctly and in a timely fashion. I spent my lunch time in Inner Harbor yesterday after my interviews. Yes Harrisburg is smaller but we could easily have that too! I see a waterfront district on the east and west shores and City Island! Imagine the shopping, the restaurants, the places with the beautiful views, the nightlife...




Sports hall could pay for itself, study says

Director asks council to revisit museum plan

Friday, January 27, 2006
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News

The embattled director of Harrisburg's proposed National Sports Hall of Fame is asking the City Council to take a fresh look at the $23.5 million project in light of a feasibility study showing the museum would pay for itself.

"It's going to be a successful project," director John Levenda said of the combination museum, office and restaurant project planned for City Island.

But the council has refused to pledge the city's financing guarantee for the sports museum. Last year, the board turned down a request by Levenda and Mayor Stephen R. Reed for $1 million in seed money for the project.

This week, council member Linda Thompson voted against Harrisburg's 2006 budget because $101,000 of the $59 million city spending plan would go to the sports museum project.

The budget was passed by council on Tuesday.

Levenda, of Camp Hill, has been director and sole employee of the museum's nonprofit corporation for the past year. He receives $87,500 a year.

Levenda speculated that his salary and friendship with Reed make him and the sports museum convenient targets.

Levenda's involvement in controversial projects dates to his work as a city consultant on Harrisburg's National Civil War Museum, as well as his occasional trips to the West to collect artifacts Reed has purchased.

"I'm a target because people want to make me a target," Levenda said. "But I'm not ready to walk away from this project, and the mayor is not ready to walk away from it."

Levenda said Reed wants to break ground on the sports museum this year. But the council would have to approve pledging the city's credit behind an estimated $18 million to $22 million bond issue or bank loan for the project.

The museum also is scheduled to get $9.5 million from the state's capital projects fund, but that won't be released until the city spends an equal amount of its own.

Levenda is asking the seven-member council, which includes three new members, to take another look in light of a $30,000 feasibility study showing the venture would sustain itself.

The report, by International Theme Park Services Inc. of Cincinnati, concludes that with the planned addition of 60,000 square feet of office space, the 120,000-square-foot museum, bar and restaurant and office complex could pay for itself.

The report forecasts that office rentals would add $613,000 in revenues in the first year of operation, growing to $934,952 by the fifth year.

The rental income -- along with revenues from museum admissions, restaurant, bar and gift shop operations and various other sources -- would help the project gross $3.9 million the first year, and up to $6 million annually by year five, the report said.

"The only thing I ask is that council look at it with an open mind," Levenda said.

He pointed out that when the council first refused to back financing and seed money for the project last year, several members asked for a detailed feasibility study.

With a positive study in hand, he hopes the council will eventually approve the museum's financing package in another vote.

"The feasibility study and the numbers speak for themselves," Levenda said.

The study did not factor in the impact of a possible rival Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame being discussed in Reading.

Reading officials and the nonprofit group that owns the rights to the name "Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame" say they aren't close to a deal, but that conversations are continuing.

Among the members of City Council in Harrisburg, Thompson opposes the sports museum, and Susan Brown-Wilson and Gloria Martin-Roberts have said the city has far greater needs than a hall of fame on City Island.

New members Patty Kim, Dan Miller and Wanda R.D. Williams have not publicly stated their positions.

[EastSideHBG]

PUC approves new taxi service

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Cumberland County will soon have a new taxi service.

The state Public Utility Commission yesterday, by a 3-2 vote, approved an application from Taxi USA/Pennsylvania to begin service throughout the county. The new company plans to begin service with three taxis operating from a dispatch center in either Carlisle or Camp Hill.

An administrative law judge had recommended against approval on financial grounds.

PUC Chairman Wendell Holland said Taxi USA already operates in Winchester, Va., and has almost no debt. That should enable the company to stay in business long enough to become established.

Five other midstate taxi companies objected to the application, saying there is no need for more taxi service in Cumberland County. Holland disagreed, pointing to testimony from several businesses that had trouble getting cabs.

He said Taxi USA's technical fitness was undisputed, pointing to the company's record in Virginia and dedication to strong customer service.

[EastSideHBG]

This is pretty interesting:

--A concert featuring white supremacist music that was to be held in rural Grantville ended up being staged less than eight miles from the state Capitol in a residential area in Middletown last night.

The concert, called "Uprise 2006," was moved at the last minute to the Middletown Fire Department's Liberty firehall on Adelia Street.

"Uprise 2006" was touted on a Web site that featured a "German hatecore band" and several CDs, including the titles "No Remorse" and "Deaths Head." The concert promoter is described by a national organization as a white hate group.--

http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriot...890.xml&coll=1

And a touching article about Harrisburg's homeless:

Who are Harrisburg's Homeless?

[EastSideHBG]

Now this is what I call funny because A) these aren't solid, high paying jobs and nothing to be that proud of B) it shows just how big-box retailers have PA lawmakers in their pocket C) this mall is going to be a miserable failure only after a short amount of time (and if it isn't, it is going to kill the other mall's business that are so close to each other and have the same exact stores in them already then). What an absolute joke, and they destroyed all of that land for this?!? At the very least they could've put something in this mall that we don't already have!! Once again the developers and local leaders show they can't see past the status quo and what is already here...

SWATARA TWP.

State program paves way for revenue-building mall

Tuesday, January 31, 2006
BY JACK SHERZER
Of The Patriot-News

Almost $4 million in road improvements needed for the High Pointe Commons shopping center under construction in Swatara Twp. is being paid for through a new state economic development program.

Although its name is a jawbreaker, local governments see something great in the Infrastructure Facilities Improvement Program.

The program earmarks part of the state sales and income taxes the shopping center is expected to generate to pay what amounts to an interest-free $4 million loan.

Without the help, the project probably wouldn't be financially doable, the developers of the $50 million center off Lindle Road (Route 441) said.

It is expected to open in October and already has signed on Target and JC Penney stores.

Indeed, Swatara Twp. officials said other developers looked at the property and backed out because of the cost of traffic signals and other required upgrades to area roads.

"In this case, we get to immediately realize the full value of the property taxes for the school district and the municipality and the county," said county Commissioner George Hartwick III. "The individuals who are actually doing the shopping there are the ones who are providing the necessary revenues."

Until now, if a community wanted to help a developer, it was generally done by deferring a portion of a project's real estate taxes for a time.

That's how about $3 million in financing was secured for upgrades to the Harrisburg Mall for the huge Bass Pro Shops: Dauphin County, Swatara Twp. and the Central Dauphin School District agreed to defer a portion of the mall's real estate taxes for 10 years.

The idea behind offering government help is that the tax benefit to the host community ends up being greater than the initial assistance that makes the project possible.

For High Pointe, the county's Industrial Development Authority will borrow money that will be repaid over 10 years with up to a $371,954 annual payment from the state, according to those involved.

The state's agreement to pay up to $3.7 million over the next decade is based on estimates that the mall will employ almost 1,000 people and in its first four years generate $11.7 million in state income and sales taxes.

Improvements planned include installing three traffic lights at intersections and work on nearby highway on and off-ramps, officials said.

Dennis Yablonsky, secretary for the state's Department of Community and Economic Development, said the program was created less than a year ago by the Rendell administration as a way for municipalities to help attract important development projects.

"The township couldn't have afforded this on their own without substantially raising taxes and the developer probably wouldn't have done the project if they had to bear the cost of the entire infrastructure," Yablonsky said.

Paul K. Cornell, Swatara Twp.'s administrator, agreed the financing help was vital.

"There have been six developers take a run at this site and two previous plans," Cornell said.

Steve Evans, managing director of the retail division of High Real Estate Group, the Lancaster-based firm partnering with CBL & Associates Properties Inc. of Tennessee on the project, said the firms would cover any difference between the state funding and the final cost.

Initially, the improvements were estimated at around $6 million, but Evans said it is hoped they will cost between $3 million and $4 million. Without the program, the improvements would have been too expensive, he said.

"This program, coupled with our efforts, is making this site developable, really, for the first time in 10 years," Evans said.

[EastSideHBG]

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Rents for area office space increase, survey finds

Tuesday, January 31, 2006
BY DAVID DeKOK
Of The Patriot-News

Rents for commercial space in the Harrisburg area are starting to creep up for the first time in several years, according to a local real estate agent, who called it a reflection of supply and demand.

Thomas T. Posavec, vice president of the office service group at Landmark Commercial Realty Inc. in Wormleysburg, said he is seeing rents rise slightly in several areas of the market.

In the downtown market, for example, he expects increases in both selling prices and rents for older Class B space in the months to come. In other parts of the market, tenants may find fewer discounts available as rents firm up.

"We've been busy," Posavec said. "We still see people buying buildings for their own use. But where we had been seeing 3 percent annual increases in rent, that's now going to 31/2 to 4 percent. These are small steps, but these are trends we watch closely."

Posavec compiles a quarterly report on commercial office-space vacancies in 846 buildings in the region. His report for the fourth quarter of 2005 showed that the Harrisburg area absorbed (leased) a net 36,015 square feet of commercial office space, compared to 264,786 square feet in the third quarter last year.

That decline could mean either a softening of demand or a drop in available space. Posavec suggests it's the latter, and points to a market that is simply hot. He noted that the former State Farm Insurance claims center building at 115 Limekiln Road in New Cumberland sold in a week for its full asking price.

"There are next to no office buildings for sale in Harrisburg," he said. "Prices are inching up."

Bill Gladstone, a commercial Realtor who operates his own brokerage under the umbrella of NAI/CIR in Wormleysburg, agreed that rents are creeping up. He believes the market is largely recovered from the hit it took after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Posavec said commercial space that was renting for $17 a square foot four years ago is now up to about $19 per square foot.

He continues to be positive about the Market Square Plaza building in downtown Harrisburg, the area's newest Class A office tower.

A small amount of space remains in the building, and he thinks it will take between six and eight months to absorb it all.

The high-rise building is owned by a Philadelphia-area company, which Posavec said is part of a growing trend.

Dawn Marie Realty, owned by an investor from Bronx, N.Y., recently acquired two office buildings at 3540 and 3544 N. Progress Ave. in Susquehanna Twp. He said the buyer, Ron Mirando, who could not be reached for comment, chanced upon Harrisburg on the Internet while searching for a place to invest some money and liked what he saw.

One other deal mentioned by Posavec was for the Warrington (Evangelical) Press Building at Third and Reilly streets in Harrisburg that was last occupied by the former state Department of Environmental Resources. It is adjacent to the Midtown Theater. He said one deal for the building fell through last year, but another party has stepped forward. No firm details on the planned use for the building were immediately available.

[EastSideHBG]

Geez, where is everyone?!?

I haven't heard about this project in a while and this was in today's paper:

--Delta Development Group Inc. of Camp Hill has been retained by Williamsport City Council for about $211,000 to seek additional state and federal money for projects related to the city's downtown revitalization efforts, including a cinema complex, conference center and a parking deck.

Officials credit Delta with helping obtain $18 million in state and federal funding for downtown projects since the 1990s.--

***************

Good news and still lower than the avg., but if you take notice, HBG's jobless rate used to get into the high 3% and hang in the low 3s. Now it is creeping above 4% and dropping to just shy of 4%.

And any addition of jobs is great but we need more solid employment, as these new jobs are all service related jobs!


Regional jobless rate declines in December

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

The Harrisburg-area unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in December, from 4.2 percent in November, and remained the fourth-lowest rate in the state.

State College had the lowest jobless rate in the state, at 3.4 percent, followed by the Lancaster area at 3.6 percent and the Lebanon area at 3.8 percent. The York-area jobless rate in December was 4.1 percent.

The state and national unemployment rates were both 4.9 percent in December.

The Harrisburg area -- Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties -- had a total of 326,600 jobs in December, an increase of 700 from November and 3,100 from December 2004.

The number of service-sector jobs increased by 1,000 from November to December, mostly because of seasonal hiring in retailing. The number of goods-producing jobs dropped by 300 from November to December, with manufacturing adding 100 jobs and construction and mining losing 400 jobs.

The average hourly wage in manufacturing was $15.84 in December, compared with the statewide average of $15.26. The area's average manufacturing work week totaled 39.3 hours.

[wrightchr]

^ glad to see that unemployment is still one of the lowest in the state/nation. sorry i haven't been on much lately dave. keep up the good work

[wrightchr]

i found out about this over the weekend. my sister currently attend camp hill schools. i think this is pretty cool news.

**********************************
A most wonderful gift
More schools could use such a philanthropist as this
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Fortunate is the community that has the likes of Grace M. Pollock as a caring and giving resident.

But the fact is that there is only one community in the country, as far as anyone can tell, that has ever received a gift to a public school on the scale provided by the former Broadway dancer and model, now philanthropist. That community is Camp Hill.

It was announced over the weekend that Pollock, 87, is donating $15 million to the Camp Hill School District to be used to enhance the performing arts programs at the Eisenhower Elementary School.

The staggering generosity of this gift is illustrated by the fact that only a handful of public schools in the country have ever received a million-dollar gift, none that comes close to the size of this one.

Pollock's interest in the performing arts extends back to the 1930s and 1940s when she danced in musicals on The Great White Way. Prompted by her love of children and her enthusiastic support of Camp Hill schools, her gift in behalf of the performing arts offers the district an opportunity to do something as out of the ordinary as the gift itself. Students attending Eisenhower Elementary will be the beneficiaries of Pollock's investment in her community's future for decades to come.

This is a wonderful gift from a wonderful lady to a much appreciative community. Too bad every community doesn't have a Grace Pollock.

[EastSideHBG]

2nd lawsuit filed in rejection of plans

Thursday, February 02, 2006
BY JACK SHERZER
Of The Patriot-News

Susquehanna Twp. is the target of two lawsuits over its rejection of two plans to develop part of the 93-acre site at Linglestown Road and Progress Avenue once known as Vartown.

Yesterday, the Vartan Group Inc., under the name Buonarroti Trust, filed a suit in Dauphin County Court over the township's turning down plans for the construction of 36 condominiums on the site, which would be entered from Thea Drive off Progress Avenue.

At issue is the Vartan Group's contention that the township approved the first phase of 36 condominiums and the preliminary plan to build 415 residences in 2003.

Township officials are saying the company never took the steps to make the approval final.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of another filed against the township last month by Lancaster-based developers Stoltzfous and Martin, doing business under the name Thea Drive Associates LLC, who have an agreement to purchase a 35-acre tract from the Vartan Group.

In December the township commissioners rejected the plan, called "Maplewood," which called for 94 apartments and 267 town houses.

Township officials said that some roads are too narrow and that others are dead ends and need cul-de-sacs; the developer said the areas are actually parking areas or driveways.

Robert J. DeSousa, CEO of the Vartan Group, said the township is out of line with both rejections and that if an agreement cannot be reached between Susquehanna and Stoltzfous and Martin by the spring, then the Vartan Group wants to go ahead with its original plans.

In the lawsuit filed yesterday, the Vartan Group pointed to e-mails sent by the late John Vartan acknowledging the township approval of the building plans.

The suit detailed how the company moved forward with getting sewage plan approvals and permits from the Dauphin County Conservation District for erosion and sediment controls during construction.

Township solicitor Bruce Foreman could not be reached for comment, but last month when the Stoltzfous and Martin lawsuit was filed, Foreman said the Vartan Group would have to start from scratch if it wanted to develop the site.

In a letter dated Jan. 13 from Foreman to Thomas W. Scott, the attorney representing the Vartan Group and Stoltzfous and Martin, Foreman said the Vartan Group did not respond properly within 45 days after the conditional plan approval was given on July 11, 2003.

"There was an e-mail response from John O. Vartan dated Sept. 21, 2003, which varied the conditions," Foreman said in the letter. "This communication did not meet the requirements of the ordinance nor did it accept the conditions as stated."

*************

West Shore YMCA to begin building $3.5 million addition

Thursday, February 02, 2006
BY JERRY L. GLEASON
Of The Patriot-News

Construction of a $3.5 million expansion that includes a teen community center, senior activity center and an indoor waterpark will begin today at the West Shore YMCA.

"It's really exciting," said Joanne Wevodau, the YMCA's executive director. "With this expansion, we will have something for every segment of the community, and I'm really pleased about that."

Construction, which will add about 21,000 square feet of space to the building, should be completed this fall, Wevodau said

The groundbreaking ceremony will be at 10:30 a.m. today in the gymnasium at the YMCA at 410 Fallowfield Road in Camp Hill.

"We were busting at the seams, and the expansion is needed to meet the needs of the West Shore Area," Wevodau said.

"There is no teen center on the West Shore, and this will give teens a place to come to do homework and take part in games and activities. It will be the place to be on Friday nights, rather than hang out at the mall," she said.

The expansion also will include a 4,000-square-foot indoor waterpark with a 630-foot long, 450-degree spiral tube flume and a climbing wall, a computer center, a child care center, a family locker room, a women's fitness center, and enlarged wellness and free-weight centers.

The West Shore YMCA, which is a branch of the Harrisburg YMCA, is in a 52,000-square-foot facility with three indoor pools, a gymnasium with elevated running track, a performance center, aerobic studio, free-weight center and racquetball courts.

[chuikov]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

What is the Future of the Walnut Street Bridge?

And a discussion I started in CE about CV schools:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=96859

Hey eastside! My work has been focused in and around Harrisburg lately, so it's nice to see some updates on what's going on around town.

Had a good view of "old shakey" the other day:



Do you know what those tanks on the bridge are for?