New apartments coming to downtown / midtown (Pittsburgh, Harrisburg: furlow, apartment complex, rentals)

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Renovations at the Furlow building started yesterday. The plan is for street-level retail on the ground floor, with about 25-30 one-bedroom apartments on the upper levels. The material I've read said that the apartments are "for single professionals", which suggests that they will be upscale units renting at the high end of the market rate. Combined with the 1500 Project, this could bring a substantial amount of disposable income into Midtown in a relatively short period. Talk about kickstarting the district!



Additionally, Executive House is requesting a variance and/or rezoning to convert three floors of commercial office space (formerly the Office of Inspector General) into residential apartments. It will probably match the building's existing residential floorplans, but I've heard rumors that they will be attempting some two-bedroom units as well. Existing floors have 20 apartments, so this will bring around 50-60 brand new apartments to downtown.

That's around 100 new rental properties hitting the city within the next 12-18 months. Good? Bad? Ugly? I'm all for it.

[judd2401]

Are these going to be rentals or condos to purchase? I hope they don't make the same mistake they made on the remodel on front street of the beautiful apartment complex redone into condos with no washers/dryers. With 2 small stackables per floor, it was a non-starter. This is a beautiful building in a great location, I hope they do it right with all the amenities, why only 1 bedroom? That stinks BIG TIME, even single professionals want a guest room, that will turn me off because I'm looking to invest in a condo in downtown Harrisburg but no one seems to be doing it right, i.e., at least 2 bedrooms, full sized washer/dryer IN unit, and stop with the books of restrictions in order to buy, heavens to betsy! Make it easy!

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by judd2401

That stinks BIG TIME, even single professionals want a guest room, that will turn me off because I'm looking to invest in a condo in downtown Harrisburg but no one seems to be doing it right, i.e., at least 2 bedrooms, full sized washer/dryer IN unit, and stop with the books of restrictions in order to buy, heavens to betsy! Make it easy!

I agree - nobody seems to be doing condo living in the city. Riverview was done very poorly, IMHO. They stripped the building of all its charm and buried much of the original character in modern "fake vintage" trim. And there is simply no hirise condo living available at any price around here.

I'm 99% sure these will all be rental units. The reality is that rental may be better for the city than ownership.

[judd2401]

Whatever is better for the city is OK with me, Harrisburg looks worse right now that I've seen it in 20 years. It's in shambles. The city has so much potential that requires a mayor with vision and connections to get things done. Currently, it's a wash. What happened to the condos that were supposed to go up on Front Street at the old Edgewater Psych Hospital? The signs are down so I guess they gave that up? No wonder.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by judd2401

Whatever is better for the city is OK with me, Harrisburg looks worse right now that I've seen it in 20 years. It's in shambles. The city has so much potential that requires a mayor with vision and connections to get things done. Currently, it's a wash. What happened to the condos that were supposed to go up on Front Street at the old Edgewater Psych Hospital? The signs are down so I guess they gave that up? No wonder.

I thought I was going crazy! I remembered seeing signs for some "new condos" in that area, then got distracted by the goings-on at Riverview. Next time I thought to look, the signs were advertising "new office space". Next time they were gone.

The city urgently needs more medium- and high-density housing. I would love to see some new residential hirises constructed, but would settle for converting some existing properties into high-end condos or rentals. We have plenty of buildings that would be PERFECT for this -- Executive House, Second & Pine, Third & State, Tenth & Market -- but nobody is doing it. I can't buy or rent my dream home in or around Harrisburg at any price, because it just isn't available. Executive House comes close, but is in dire need of a major facelift.

This city offers a tremendous amount of bang for your buck, but lacks the housing necessary to attract the people who will help take this town to the next level. So frustrating.

[judd2401]

I agree 150%. I think the renovation at Riverview was a huge lost opportunity to get the process of in-city condos going. If they would have done those right, it would have become contagious. Harrisburg is the perfect city and location for city dwellers who don't want the hustle of Phila or Pittsburgh. Along with increasing population comes more business to support the population, and a better tax base. I know the economy has been bad but PA and the Harrisburg area are doing better than many states, and Harrisburg is mostly government and high tech, it's the leadership in the mayors office that's bringing down the city with lack of leadership and vision for the city. I've all but given up retiring in Harrisburg city, Midtown despite all Mayor Reeds best intentions has not taken off, I worked down the street from there for 20 years and it's worse now than ever, the crime rate is up, drug peddling is rampant, and people are afraid to walk around that area at night. There was a core of upstanding folks who had owned in that area for 30 years but they're slowly moved out to safer neighborhoods, aside from the new construction, the decay is obvious. I was very excited to see Riverview and Edgewater being redone as condos but to no avail.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Some progress is being made on Furlow, though it's hard to see from the outside.

Midtown’s Furlow Building Gets Un-Furloughed | floor9.com (http://floor9.com/2011/08/31/the-furlow-buildings-furlough-gets-furloughed/ - broken link)

There are two zoning board hearings coming up on September 7th and 12th. As part of the renovation, they want to knock down the rear single-story structure for "parking and elevator improvements". It also appears that they want to pave the adjacent grass lot. Both are fine by me. I'd rather see some more small neighborhood parks in midtown, but at the same time, I'm not about to complain about this sort of development. I'll happily take parking, even if it's only for residents.

[danwxman]

The 1500 Project has been selling quite well from what I understand. Really good to see that development, but I can't help but think it's a little bit before its time and in the wrong section of the neighborhood. But, can't argue with the units selling!

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by danwxman

The 1500 Project has been selling quite well from what I understand. Really good to see that development, but I can't help but think it's a little bit before its time and in the wrong section of the neighborhood. But, can't argue with the units selling!

Welcome back!

I'm thrilled to see it (apparently) doing well. With the right investors in the right parcels at the right time, we could be in the early days of a new era for midtown and the northern gateway. Imagine what that area could be like in ten years if all three Vartan projects along Sixth take off, the Furlow and glass factory buildings are completed, the Northern Gateway is finished, and the courthouse is opened. The existing and proposed development plans combine with huge swaths of open land to create a catalyst for strong development.

If you went back in time and asked someone in 1997 what they thought about downtown Harrisburg's future, their opinion would be pretty bleak. They'd probably laugh at you if you described the current state of downtown. I feel the same way about uptown & the northern gateway.

If the city government doesn't derp this up, we could see a new era of Harrisburg.