Gov. Shapiro, Harrisburg leaders unveil $64 million plan to revitalize downtown

The plan includes new businesses, public space improvements, more concerts and efforts to make downtown safer and easier to access.

• Katie Knol/WITF
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Katie Knol is WITF's General Assignment Reporter & Host.
  
  She graduated from Penn State University in 2024, earning bachelor's degrees in journalism and political science. She has also worked at WPSU, the News Lab at Penn State, The Daily Collegian and CommRadio.

Downtown Harrisburg is set to receive $64 million in state and private investment aimed at attracting businesses, making downtown safer and improving public spaces.

Gov. Josh Shapiro and local community leaders announced the plan Monday. The initiative, called Harrisburg Works for ALL of Us, was developed with input from more than 4,400 Harrisburg residents.

It includes six transformation strategies: 

• Build a complete downtown neighborhood
• Fill storefronts and grow local business
• Make downtown easy to reach and walk
• Keep downtown clean, safe and welcoming
• Upgrade streets, storefronts and public spaces
• Activate the Riverfront, arts and entertainment

There will be a new Courtyard by Marriott hotel on Market Street and the Walnut Street Bridge will be reilluminated. Also, the stage at Riverfront Park will become a permanent summer fixture, allowing for more concerts.

“I want to be clear, we’re not just investing in downtowns,” Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said. “We’re investing in neighborhoods as well, and we’re investing in the people here in Harrisburg.”

Davis said cleaning up the area and improving lighting will make the area safer for visitors.

This is just the first step in the process, leaders said. Another barrier keeping people away from the downtown is parking costs, which Shapiro said he wants to address with free parking on one Saturday each month, though it would need state legislative approval.

Businesses previously told WITF the cost — $4 an hour plus a 99-cent processing fee for each transaction — and inconvenience of parking is an obstacle.

“While we’ve made significant investments and significant strides, it is clear we need to do more to help this neighborhood move forward and become that center of opportunity yet again,” Shapiro said, attributing many businesses closing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This revitalization work will start immediately, he said.

“Everything we laid out today is in progress, is happening,” Shapiro said. “There’s either shovels in the ground, or there is a clear timeline for when those shovels are going in the ground.”