NEWS INFORMATION FROM |
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THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED |
FOR IMMEDIATE USE |
MOST EXTENSIVE HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD RENEWAL WORK EVER UNDERTAKEN AT ONE TIME UNDERWAY; GROUNDBREAKING OCCURS FOR THE TOWNS AT GOVERNOR’S SQUARE UPTOWN
Mayor Stephen R. Reed today said city housing and neighborhood renewal efforts are expanding to create the most extensive number of new and restored homes and neighborhood areas ever undertaken at one time in city record. The work now underway or soon to be started over the next 18 months amounts to 1,752 newly built or rehabilitated housing units, representing over $143,173,000 in public and private investment. With the housing activity comes new sidewalks, exterior landscaping and other exterior amenities. Today’s announcement was hallmarked by the formal groundbreaking for The Towns at Governor’s Square, involving 72 new townhomes that create a new city neighborhood in the city’s Uptown. Reed said it is part of a 294 residential unit development covering a 9block area, on over 45 acres of land, on parts of Maclay Street and areas north and south of Maclay Street. The new townhomes include two-story houses, 16 and 18 feet wide, that feature approximately 1,290 square feet of living space, with three bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen, gas heating, a one-car parking pad and architectural design standards that make it compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Home buyers have the option of adding a finished third floor, front porches, gas fireplaces, sunrooms and detached garages, if they wish. Homebuyers can receive assistance with down payment and closing costs on their mortgages. The developers, Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse and the Landex Corporation, are offering down payment help of up to $3,000. Further, the Dauphin County First Time Homebuyer Affordable Housing Trust Fund will grant up to $3,500 for low and moderate-income buyers. Other help is available from the Nehemiah Program. Attractive financing is available. Reed said the new townhomes are all eligible for the city’s tax abatement program, too, which makes the ultimate costs of the homes very affordable and within financial reach of most. The Mayor also said the homebuyers are eligible for Mortgage Tax Credit Certificates. Harrisburg was first in the nation to issue them. An MCC allows a percentage of the interest paid on a mortgage to return to the homebuyer for every year of the mortgage’s existence. Homes start at $69,900. In addition to private financing from the developer, financial support of the project has been provided by the city, the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh. Total project costs are $29.9 million, which includes the costs related to 222 rental units that are being rehabilitated and upgraded throughout the neighborhood area and some of which have just been completed. Reed said: : “The extensive new construction and rebuilding occurring over such a large neighborhood area provides a major transformation to a measurable portion of the Uptown, which is one of the factors underlying the expected success of the new investment here.” The Mayor said he expects that when such a dramatic change occurs over such a wide area, it tends to also spur other housing work nearby---which is already starting to happen. The project was made possible because after a previous housing development fell into disrepair, with most of its units empty, the city stepped in, took over the multiple sites, and issued a Request for Proposals to generate a major upgrade to the area. Development standards were set to assure high quality and the current developers were selected following that process. Reed said other work taking place in the city now and in the coming months involve newly built or completely restored housing units in every part of Harris-burg. Projects and site areas include the city’s Homeownership Opportunities Program and Home Improvement Program, Market Place Townhomes, Capitol Heights, Allison Hill Apartments Project, Habitat for Humanity work, student housing complex, the Commons at Barclay Court, International House, private developer initiatives and scattered site vacant property take-overs, followed by rebuilding and resale to new homeowners. “We have never had so much housing activity at one time. It is further proof of the sustained momentum of Harrisburg’s continuing resurgence and of the city’s further rise as a desirable place to not only work and visit, but to also live in close proximity to employment centers, parks, and the public amenities we offer,” Reed said. “Adding to this is that city homes are best home buy in the regional market. |
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