Harrisburg // Midtown vs. Uptown (Camp Hill, Penn: real estate, apartments, rent)

[tompratt64]

I am moving to the Harrisburg area for work and am wondering about the Midtown and Olde Uptown areas. How is the crime in these areas? I enjoy walking and find the whole riverfront area charming. I will be renting to start and have seen several adds for Midtown places.

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by tompratt64

I am moving to the Harrisburg area for work and am wondering about the Midtown and Olde Uptown areas. How is the crime in these areas? I enjoy walking and find the whole riverfront area charming. I will be renting to start and have seen several adds for Midtown places.

Midtown is generally safe in the river wards (west of Third st). East of there (3rd to 6th) is a mix of new townhouses and old rowhouses, vacant lots/dead zones and occaisonal run down house. It's not really that unsafe but it's a little ugly and I don't think I'd live there. This area is undergoing a lot of change and should be pretty nice in a few years. That being said the vast majority of apartments and houses on the river side of 3rd. Aside from petty crime (car break-ins and such) there is not much else going on. There was a string of muggings last summer...but again these things can happen anywhere.

"Olde" Uptown is Harrisburg's up and coming neighborhood. Three to four years ago this neighborhood was half vacant and half crackhouses and it has drastically changed since then. The houses are absolutely beautiful, there's a nice cafe right in the middle (Alvaro's) but you should be aware that the neighborhood is still not fully gentrified and you might not feel as comfortable as nearby Midtown. Crime is certainly going to be higher here but things are improving.

[tompratt64]

Thanks for the info. I'm a walker and thought it might be nice to be in Midtown. Is parking a problem in this area? I currently live in the Boston, MA area and parking is a HUGE problem! Very expensive.

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by tompratt64

Thanks for the info. I'm a walker and thought it might be nice to be in Midtown. Is parking a problem in this area? I currently live in the Boston, MA area and parking is a HUGE problem! Very expensive.

Midtown is the PERFECT walking neighborhood, everybody walks/jogs/bikes here. Parking is a problem if you live on one of the alleys (like Susquehanna street) where there is little to no parking. I live on Penn street which is only parking on one side and I always find parking on the same block, couple times a month (when I get home late) I may have to park on a nearby block. I think it's that way through most of Midtown.

[newPAres]

I'm a young professional moving into Harrisburg soon, and I've pretty much decided to locate in the Midtown or Uptown areas. So I have the same question as Tom, what is the crime like in "Olde Uptown" versus Midtown? I realize that there can be crime anywhere, but Midtown seems more established from my initial impression (like 1600-1700 penn, and hamilton between 2nd and 3rd). But in Uptown it seems that a lot of houses are being rehabbed by a couple of development companies, like the 1900 block of green. Are the people who move into these rehabbed houses targets in any way from surrounding bad areas? Because I heard there are drug problems a few blocks either way from Olde Uptown, like around Maclay and 6th streets. Does this element ever make its way into Midtown or Olde Uptown, such as burglaries or car break ins?

Thanks

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by newPAres

I'm a young professional moving into Harrisburg soon, and I've pretty much decided to locate in the Midtown or Uptown areas. So I have the same question as Tom, what is the crime like in "Olde Uptown" versus Midtown? I realize that there can be crime anywhere, but Midtown seems more established from my initial impression (like 1600-1700 penn, and hamilton between 2nd and 3rd). But in Uptown it seems that a lot of houses are being rehabbed by a couple of development companies, like the 1900 block of green. Are the people who move into these rehabbed houses targets in any way from surrounding bad areas? Because I heard there are drug problems a few blocks either way from Olde Uptown, like around Maclay and 6th streets. Does this element ever make its way into Midtown or Olde Uptown, such as burglaries or car break ins?

Thanks

1600-1700 block of Penn is the most desirable part of "Engleton" which is the neighborhood between Reily and Kelker, Front to 3rd. Hamilton is nice too. Last summer there was a string of car break-ins and a mugging in this area, but I haven't heard of any crime yet this summer.

Old Uptown is above Kelker street (above 1800 2nd/Penn/Green). My friend and I always comment as soon as you get above Kelker it just gets noiser -- people out on their porches, kids screaming running around everywhere and the like. The neighborhood used to be really bad with a lot of drug trade but there has been aggressive renovation recently. It has really turned around in the past two years but you should be aware it still hasn't quite turned the corner and isn't like the areas below the 1800 block. At this point the area is about 60-70% new residents, the rest are people who have lived there forever. There are some petty crimes such as plants knocked over that happen frequently and car break-ins every few months. The upside is the rent is probably going to be cheaper in that area. The best block in that area is probably the 1900 block of Green...well lit with brand new townhouses on the east side of the street and almost all new residents.

[judd2401]

I have an alternative viewpoint having lived and worked in Uptown for 15 years. Mayor Reed who is now outgoing, made great strides in attempting to create new growth and entice homeownership in these areas. It was working fairly well for years but growth and change came slowly. Unfortunately, in my opinion, crime is way up in both of these areas, not a day has gone by in the past week that there haven't been shootings in Harrisburg and these areas are not immune. At this point, I would recommend Cheypoke [spelling probably wrong] which is a walled off community on the river front, with easy walking access to the city, or Camp Hill, which is across the river, safe and contained. The bridge has a pedestrian walkway so it's easy to cross the river on foot or bike to reach the city. Uptown and Midtown would provide much lower real estate costs so you have to weigh what's important to you. Good luck with your relocations.

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by judd2401

I have an alternative viewpoint having lived and worked in Uptown for 15 years. Mayor Reed who is now outgoing, made great strides in attempting to create new growth and entice homeownership in these areas. It was working fairly well for years but growth and change came slowly. Unfortunately, in my opinion, crime is way up in both of these areas, not a day has gone by in the past week that there haven't been shootings in Harrisburg and these areas are not immune. At this point, I would recommend Cheypoke [spelling probably wrong] which is a walled off community on the river front, with easy walking access to the city, or Camp Hill, which is across the river, safe and contained. The bridge has a pedestrian walkway so it's easy to cross the river on foot or bike to reach the city. Uptown and Midtown would provide much lower real estate costs so you have to weigh what's important to you. Good luck with your relocations.

I think the OP was actually referring to "Old Uptown" not Uptown. It can be a bit confusing. All of the shootings in the past few weeks have been within a few blocks of each other in Uptown (around 4th/5th) and Allison Hill (13th street area). And it all has to do with the drug trade. It's a sad situation, really.

Midtown hasn't had any shootings recently and is generally a pretty safe place to live. Harrisburg is really a block-by-block city. One block can be great and the next is bad...that's the nature of East Coast cities.

Shipoke is a good option as well, never any problems in that neighborhood but it's expensive.

[newPAres]

Thanks for the input. I guess I have one more question, would you consider Olde Uptown or other parts of Midtown as getter better, worse, or remaining stagnant as neighborhoods since the market breakdown months ago?

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by newPAres

Thanks for the input. I guess I have one more question, would you consider Olde Uptown or other parts of Midtown as getter better, worse, or remaining stagnant as neighborhoods since the market breakdown months ago?

Believe it or not the housing market has actually continued to grow in Midtown, though things lately have been holding pretty steady and some houses are remaining on the market for a while.

Midtown is definetely getting "better" and has been for some time. Old Uptown is 100% better then where it was even two years ago. But two years ago it was a drug-infested ghetto. It's still not quite "there" yet but generally safe, especially during the day. Midtown hasn't been bad since 1980s. As I recall, there hasn't been a murder in Midtown for years now.