TheBurg

16 | theburg | 08.16 O nce upon a time, in the late 1980s, a group called the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania built its suburban ideal in Swatara Township. Plenty of surface parking. Fun stores and restaurants nearby. Accessible to highways and airport. Even for a statewide association, the struggling capital city wasn't seen as a good home. Fast-forward 27 years. Government has gained prominence in a complex health care system. Seeking proximity to lawmakers, what is now the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania is moving back into Harrisburg proper, where— surprise—there's convenient parking and fun stores and restaurants nearby. "To be six miles away from the center of decision- making for Pennsylvania struck me as a lost opportunity to be both visible and accessible to policymakers who are asking hundreds of questions about health care," said HAP President and CEO Andy Carter, who helped lead the board in making the move. "I want to be there when they ask those questions so we can give our answer as part of their due diligence." Nationwide, businesses have been pulling up stakes from suburban campuses or outlying spots and resettling into cities. Likewise, businesses here increasingly are making high-profile moves from the 'burbs to the 'Burg. Of course, finances drive the decisions, but so do proximity to power, attracting talent to remain competitive, and commitments to rebuilding the urban hub that powers the region. "We think we're stepping into a very rich, diverse field that will accrue many benefits," said Carter. LoVe the LoCAtIoN is month, HAP moves into a building on 3rd Street, in the shadow of the Capitol dome. Meanwhile, later in August, health care data analyst Geneia will leave its cramped Swatara Township digs to take occupancy in the resurrected Capitol View Commerce Center on Cameron Street. In fact, that building has been renamed "World Trade Center Harrisburg" in honor of its eponymous anchor tenant, which is moving in this fall from York. And that's not all. Last year, analytics firm VisiQuate left Rossmoyne to take up one floor of a rehabbed 19th- century mansion. And Chemical Solutions, Ltd., left its overcrowded Mechanicsburg quarters for a former plasma donation center at Herr and 7th streets. VisiQuate grabbed the opportunity to lease space in the circa-1804 mansion at 111 N. Front Street "because we just loved the location," said President JK Kolmansberger. With three offices in the United States and two in Eastern Europe, VisiQuate was accustomed to the amenities and convenience of working and hosting clients in urban settings. From Rossmoyne, "it was always a bit of a hassle to get our employees and clients close to where hotels are," said Kolmansberger. VisiQuate spotted the national and worldwide trend to reoccupy cities, but Kolmansberger said he hesitated to move into Harrisburg before recovery took hold. Now, "people are starting to come back downtown and are starting to see the city in a better place." Geneia left business park space where employees were working "two and three to an office," or assigned to working from home solely for lack of room, said CEO Mark Caron. "Many of them are very anxious for the new building," he said. "It's cool to have the flexibility to work at home, but it's also really important to have a connection with teams." As needs of the workforce evolve, operating in the city offers businesses "access to an even more diverse potential workforce," said Carter. People leaving state government for the private or nonprofit sectors "don't have to change location," and convenient access from the entire midstate will attract talent from all parts of the region, he said. Once, Carter led a nonprofit located next to the statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. ere, he often struck up "serendipitous conversations" just by "stumbling into the speaker of the House or secretary of human services," he said. But from the suburbs, HAP often had to ration the trips allowed into Harrisburg. FroM BUrBs To BUrG for decades, companies headed in one direction— from Harrisburg to the suburbs. Welcome back! bY M. DIANe MCCorMICK World trade Center Harrisburg (Capitol view Commerce Center), Cameron and Herr streets.

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