CITY RECEIVES $300,000.00 IN STATE FUNDING FOR NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AND IMPROVEMENTS
Harrisburg, PA – Mayor Stephen R. Reed today said that the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) has awarded the City three New Communities Grants for neighborhood planning and improvements. The grants are part of the Elm Street neighborhood revitalization program for residential and mixed-use areas in proximity to central business districts.
Reed said the City secured a $250,000.00 grant for public improvements in the Olde Uptown Neighborhood (the area bounded by Maclay, Third, Muench and Second Streets). The funds will provide for new sidewalks, street paving, historically-styled street lights, trees, landscaping and neighborhood banners, as part of a comprehensive $16.5 million revitalization initiative being undertaken in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is part of both a National and Municipal Historic District, and is within walking distance to the City’s Riverfront Park, the Governor’s Residence, restaurants and bakeries. Renovated and newly constructed townhomes are currently available for purchase in the Olde Uptown Neighborhood.
Reed also said the City received a second grant for $25,000.00 to create a neighborhood revitalization plan for the North Third Street Corridor. The plan will propose development strategies for the City’s Midtown and Uptown Neighborhoods between Forster and Maclay Streets and will be submitted to DCED in order to seek designation for Harrisburg’s second Elm Street Community. The plan is the successor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Program, administered in the 1990’s and aimed at commercial areas. The City retained the planning firm Johnson Mirmiran & Thompson to develop the plan.
Reed said the first of several public meetings regarding the neighborhood revitalization plan will be held on Thursday, October 23rd beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Historic Harrisburg Association Resource Center located at 1230 North Third Street. The public is encouraged to participate throughout the planning process.
Reed said designated Elm Street Communities are provided $250,000 in additional DCED funding for a five-year period to oversee and implement selected strategies. The plan developed with the $25,000 grant will set the strategies by which this second Elm Street Community can be established.
Reed additionally said the City assisted the Community Action Commission in obtaining a $25,000 Grant to update the South Allison Hill Neighborhood Action Strategy created in 1998. South Allison Hill is Harrisburg’s first designated Elm Street Community and includes the Mt. Pleasant National Historic District. The plan will build upon previously-implemented development strategies with a focus on the 17th Street Corridor. The area encompasses the Market, 13th, 17th and Derry Street corridors. The Community Action Commission has retained the planning firm Urban Research & Development Corp. to provide the five-year update.
Reed said public meetings will be held on Wednesday, October 15th at 1:30 pm at Danzante located at 200 Crescent Street and at 6:30 p.m. at the Derry Street United Methodist Church located at 1508 Derry Street. The public is encouraged to participate throughout the planning process.
Reed said Pennsylvania’s New Communities Program guides communities to incorporate sound land use policies by addressing their development needs on a community-wide basis that will manage growth, promote urban renewal, preserve local historic properties, and conserve open space and natural resources.
The Elm Street Programs were created in response to the Main Street Program to strengthen the older historic neighborhoods that historically served as Main Street’s core market. The Elm Street Concept is structured around five focus areas, integrated through a community-based strategic planning process. It is intended to operate in parallel cooperation with existing downtown or commercial corridor revitalization programs, including the Pennsylvania Main Street program.
For more information on these or other grants, visit www.newpa.com.
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