Two apartment proposals receive approvals from Harrisburg Planning Commission
On Wednesday night, the city Planning Commission approved land development plans for both a 48-unit senior housing project on Allison Hill and an eight-unit apartment project in a historic building downtown.
First, the commission unanimously supported the plan for an eight-unit office-to-residential conversion at 315 N. Front St., a circa-1850 building that long housed a law firm.
The project, called Front Street Lofts, calls for six one-bedroom and two two-bedroom units. According to developer Vernon Jones, six of the units would be market-rate and two would be deemed affordable.
The project also includes 10 parking spaces—four on site and six more off site, which would be leased.
"[Parking] is really, really hard for my neighbors," said a South Street resident, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 30 years, at the meeting. "Some are elderly, and they have to park far, far away to bring their groceries home."
Jones pointed out that 10 spaces exceeds the city's requirements for the project.
"We want to go above and beyond," he said. "We wanted to make sure we had more than enough parking to satisfy any concerns with the local community."
With planning commission approval, the land development plan now goes before City Council for final approval before the project can begin.
Next, the commission considered the land development plan for Woodward Lofts, a proposed affordable senior housing development on a large empty lot at N. 18th and Boas streets.
The Latino Connection Foundation proposes building a 48-unit building on the former site of Woodward Elementary School. The building would include a community room, a small dog park and food and clothing banks for residents.
Last year, at a well-attended community meeting, the project received considerable pushback from neighbors, who expressed concern over parking, safety and preserving green space. Several neighbors reiterated those issues on Wednesday before the planning commission.
"Parking is horrendous," said nearby resident Michael Brown. "What are we going do about the parking? They're fighting for parking right now."
The proposal includes 48 off-street parking spaces, which is more than required by the city for this type of project.
Another neighbor expressed concern over traffic and density, adding that area children often use the lot for recreation.
"We oppose this whole situation because feel it's going to have a negative impact in our community," said Patricia Banks. "Our children use that space. They enjoy the green. Why can't we keep it green?"
The grass-covered lot has been vacant since the school district demolished the century-old building in 2016. Fernandez Realty Affordable Homes purchased it last year from the Harrisburg School District for $240,000.
At the commission meeting, Amber Borelli, the foundation's interim executive director, said that, in 2023, they held two community meetings, making some design modifications as a result.
"We presented the new design, and the neighbors seemed to be in agreement with that, the ones that were present," she said.
Subsequently, they went door to door in the neighborhood and left door-hangers about the project, Borelli said.
Nonetheless, some residents at the meeting maintained that the outreach effort was insufficient.
"It was only a few people, it wasn't the whole neighborhood, the second time that they met," Banks said. "But the first time at the church, everybody was there, and there were like—no."
Several planning commission members expressed sympathy for the neighbors' concerns but added that the property is privately owned, so is eligible for development. In addition, they said, a senior housing complex should be lower impact than other types of lower-income housing or commercial development.
"Unfortunately, once the property left the ownership of the school district, the market will dictate what goes there," said commissioner Shaun O'Toole. "I believe that this is definitely better than a Dollar General or Dollar Tree or even just a regular 40-unit apartment building."
In the end, the commission unanimously approved the land development plan, which now goes to City Council for final approval before the project can break ground.
