Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — An Economic Profile
OVERVIEW
THE CITY OF HARRISBURG, THE CAPTIVATING CAPITAL OF AMERICA’S SIXTH LARGEST STATE, HAS CREATIVELY GROWN IN STATURE TO BECOME THE KIND OF EXCITING AND DYNAMIC URBAN CENTER THAT IS CRITICAL IN MAKING U.S. CITIES ECONOMICALLY COMPETITIVE AND A DESIRED LOCATION OF CHOICE.
As many cities throughout the country suffer from revenue shortfalls, eroding tax bases and the inability to provide adequate services, Harrisburg has enjoyed unprecedented economic growth, the creation of new non-tax revenue sources and a superior quality of life. The city is properly building upon its strategic location, man-made and natural amenities and expanded infrastructure to reverse the notion that older urban centers are functionally obsolete. Harrisburg is a great city, a city that is a stimulating and progressive microcosm of American society today.
Harrisburg is the hub of a metropolitan region having over 600,000 people. Located on the east bank of the 3,000-foot-wide Susquehanna River in south central Pennsylvania, Harrisburg is the largest city on the main course of the Susquehanna to which its identity is inherently linked. With a magnificent skyline backdropped by the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains, Harrisburg’s setting and physical appearance are stunning; blending the best of Pennsylvania history, natural parkland beauty, and urban design.
Native American occupancy and use of the land here has spanned at least eight thousand years, from the Middle Archaic Period, to the 18th century. The first, permanent European settlement occurred around 1710. First established as a borough in 1791 and incorporated as a city in 1860, Harrisburg’s key location in the center of the Philadelphia/Baltimore/Pittsburgh triangle allowed it to initially grow as a canal and railroad center and later as the confluence of a major railroad, air traffic and interstate highway network.
The city is also a center of government, serving both as state capital and seat of Dauphin County, as well as of corporate business, finance, the arts and recreation. Harrisburg has experienced a phenomenal resurgence over the past two decades led by reform and pro-business Mayor Stephen R. Reed. In excess of $2.65 billion has been invested in new construction, rehabilitation and economic growth since 1982, an obvious turnaround from what had been a very serious urban decline of previous decades and from when the city was listed as the second-most distressed city in the nation at the start of the 1980’s. The number of businesses on the city’s tax rolls has increased from 1,908 to over 5,500, while the crime, fire, unemployment and vacant property rates have all been cut by well more than half.*
At the heart of the city is Market Square, Harrisburg’s hospitality, corporate and governmental center. The Square has continued its historic role as the urban seed from which the sprawling Harrisburg metropolitan area has grown. In this area, called “Center City,” is also the State Capitol Complex, the employer of over 20,000 people. The complex not only embodies the neoclassical formality of the main state capitol building and surrounding edifices but in addition filters into the sleek Center City high-rises of Strawberry Square, 333 Market Street, the 16-story Rachael Carson State Office Building and other prominent structures.
Also found in the 80-acre nucleus of Center City are countless trade and professional organizations, libraries, museums, parks and recreational and cultural centers, upscale residences and high fashion shopping.
Harrisburg’s venerable historic districts stretch from Center City, both north and south along the river and east to Allison Hill, as architectural gems embodying history, neighborhood pride and restoration that make Old Harrisburg come alive with quaint elegance.
Harrisburg is third only to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the volume of certified historic rehabilitation of building facades and interior space in Pennsylvania. Historic preservation is a key component of the Mayor’s economic development policies.
The Broad Street Farmer’s Market, the oldest continuously operated market in the U.S., City Island with its RiverSide Stadium and Harrisburg Senators AA baseball team, the Pride of the Susquehanna paddlewheeler riverboat, the Harrisburg Symphony Barge Concerts, Forum Concert Hall and Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, the National Civil War Museum, the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum, the Olewein Nature Center, as well as the Greater Harrisburg Arts Festival, July 4th and Kipona celebrations are just a few samples of the hundreds of facilities, events and amenities that await those who choose Harrisburg as their destination.
Added to these are a stable economy, as well as consistent low unemployment and the nearby corporate headquarters of dozens of firms. Several advanced medical facilities and institutions of higher education are also part of Harrisburg’s fabric. The industrial areas of Lucknow and its intermodal rail-truck yard, the New Baldwin Corridor Enterprise Zone, the Keystone Opportunity Zones, and Federal Enterprise Community expand Harrisburg’s employment base by providing distribution and manufacturing job opportunities resulting in a more diversified economy, capable of withstanding downturns.
The city continues to grow with numerous townhouse projects such as Fox Ridge, Mulberry Court, Market Place, Summit Terrace, Capitol Heights, South Allison Hill, Emerald Point, and Allison Court. Bold Center City accomplishments such as the 341-room Hilton Harrisburg, the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Strawberry Square retail mall, and the Susquehanna Art Museum along with sidewalk cafes, fine restaurants and live music reinforce the city’s prestige and undisputable destination of the region for the arts, culture, entertainment and nightlife. Further, comprehensive site improvements and grand public works projects equaling those of the first City Beautiful Movement of the early 20th Century have set a course for the success of the urban experience in the new century. The water filtration and secondary river intake water projects; a commitment to regional commuter rail balanced against the need for and completion of new downtown parking garages; and such recreational and cultural opportunities as City Island’s Riverside Stadium, Riverside Village Park, Skyline Sports Complex, Morrison Park and 7th and Radnor streets athletic fields and Reservoir Park attractions culminated by the renowned National Civil War Museum, along with the new Danzante Cultural Center, the Olewine Nature Center at the Wildwood Park Sanctuary, and more, represent one community accomplishment after another of what this city is made of and where its is headed.
Harrisburg is clearly a well-rounded, state-of-the-art community with big-city influence and sophistication merged with small-town friendliness and charm. This high-profile state capital effectively demonstrates what today makes cities attractive, economically productive and livable with excellent prospects for future success and growth. And as to this future, the City reaches out to encourage and support a true engagement in regional cooperation for a comprehensive approach in the quality development and the betterment of greater Harrisburg, the state and our nation.
*Unemployment, down 75%; crime rate, down 53%; fire rate, down 72%; vacant property rate, down 85%
