Background: Harristown Project

Harristown Development Corporation (HDC) was organized in 1974 to find ways to revive Harrisburg's failing downtown and reestablish the Harrisburg core area as the heart of the City, the economic and cultural center of the metropolitan area, and as a thriving capitol area for all Pennsylvania.

Over the past 25 years since the inception of the Harristown Urban Renewal Project and the formation of HDC, Harrisburg has seen dramatic economic, cultural, and community development with the realization of numerous projects undertaken and completed by HDC in collaboration with local, state and federal governments and the private sector.

Harristown Development Corporation, a prime force in the redevelopment of downtown Harrisburg in partnership with the City & the Region:

Strawberry Square - The Key Block

Originally called the key block because of its pivotal location facing Capitol Park, the multi-faceted structure now known as Strawberry Square was considered the essential first step for Harristown. Strawberry Square stands at the center of the city's revitalization. Phase I of this mixed-use facility originally opened in 1978, with 1.4 million square feet of office and retail space overlooking the Capitol. Eleven years later, HDC completed a unique Phase II $21 million expansion. Phase II included the historic restoration of ten 19th and 20th century buildings that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and represent the city's oldest remaining retail establishments.

Today, Strawberry Square is Harrisburg's most prestigious business address. Its major tenants include Verizon, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and Salomon Smith Barney, Inc. In addition, Strawberry Square houses an array of service retail, upscale fashion shops, jewelers and other specialty stores. Its food court includes a variety of national and international cuisine to satisfy its thousands of daily customers' tastes.

Due to its high name recognition and centralized location, Strawberry Square's atrium has become, in effect, a Harrisburg town square, hosting hundreds of community, education, and arts groups and events annually.

333 Market Street

333 Market Street Building was originally designed to capture the surge of renewal energy begun at Strawberry Square on Walnut Street and carry it to Market Street. Once a showcase of Harrisburg retailing, by the 1970s Market Street had become a street of weary-looking storefronts largely vacant above the first floor. Like Strawberry Square, 333 Market Street was planned as a mixed-use complex with retail below and a variety of state agencies in leased office space above, enabling the property to generate sorely

needed tax revenues. Site work began in the spring of 1976 and was completed in 1979. The 22-story tower is not only the tallest building in Harrisburg, but also the tallest in Pennsylvania between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It contains 353,000 square feet of state office space, 14,450 square feet of retail space, and 63,200 square feet of common space.

Harrisburg Hilton And Towers

When the 15-story, 341-room Harrisburg Hilton and Towers opened on the northeast quadrant of Market Square in November 1990, it symbolized an "over-the-hump" victory for downtown renewal.

The first three floors of the building contain a lobby bar, casual and fine dining areas, and a 10,000-square-foot ballroom with seating for 1,000, and a swimming pool and fitness area. The upper 12 floors contain 341 guestrooms, including 11 junior suites and four full suites.

As a project, the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers was designed to achieve maximum community benefit. Some 300 permanent jobs were created and, by agreement, over 40 percent are held by minorities and over 50 percent by city residents. In addition, minority and women-owned businesses received close to $8 million in construction subcontracts.

As of 1999, the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers has contributed over $200 million in direct spending to the local economy. When applying the U.S. Department of Commerce's statistics for the economic multiplier effect of a hotel on a community, the Hilton has infused an astounding $517,815,000 into the Harrisburg economy through the end of 1999. Today, the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers has achieved premier status in the Harrisburg regional marketplace. As a designated "Towers" hotel, the Harrisburg property ranks within the highest tier of quality in the entire worldwide Hilton hotel network. In 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2001 the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers also achieved the American Automobile Association's prestigious "Four Diamond" rating. Additionally, the Hotel's signature restaurant, "The Golden Sheaf"achieved the "Four Diamond" rating in every year from 1993-2001. There are only six hotels in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that have achieved this distinction.

Whitaker Center For Science
and the Arts

Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is another component of the downtown revitalization. Whitaker Center has become a catalyst for cultural, economic and community development. It has already created a dynamic alliance of culture and commerce with attendance nearing 400,000 annually. This project was a tremendous example of a public/private partnership of extraordinary means.

The site for the center sits between Second and Third Streets on the block behind the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers. It houses The Science Center which includes more than 200 engaging, interactive exhibits;the 200-seat Grass/Rite Aid

Imax Theater--a 2D and 3D Imax theater featuring spectacular, educationally rich films; The Sunoco Performance Theater, the residence of Theater Harrisburg, Concertante Chamber Ensemble, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, the Wednesday Club Music Society, Harrisburg Choral Society, Susquehanna Chorale, Harrisburg Opera Association, and Market Square Concerts. It provides a fully accessible orchestra pit and accommodates up to 664 patrons on three levels of seating, including box seats.

Other HDC's revitalization projects in which HDC has had a major role include City Government Center, Fourth and Walnut, Market Square, Washington Square, Keystone Plaza, and Governor Hotel, all of which added to the above projects, have made a significant contribution to what Harrisburg is today.