TheBurg

07.18 | theburgnews.com | 9 HuD GRants PRoPoseD e annual process of disbursing federal housing funds began last month, as Harrisburg City Council introduced an ordinance that would provide money to nearly a dozen nonprofit groups. Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that the city used the same process in selecting award recipients as last year, using a point-based merit system to judge applications. In all, the city will distribute $2.04 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money, a program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. is amount includes almost $1.9 million from the 2018 allocation, plus a small supplemental amount tied to unallocated funds from a prior year. Like last year, the greatest single amount of money, $593,423, will go to repay federal loans the city backed during the Reed administration for several development projects, including the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project, which went bankrupt before being completed years later by a new owner. Most of the nonprofits proposed to receive funds have gotten some money from previous CDBG allocations. e proposed recipients include: • TriCounty HDC: $250,000 • Habitat for Humanity: $100,000 • A Miracle 4 Sure: $50,000 • TLC Work Based Training: $45,000 • Christian Recovery Aftercare Ministries (C.R.A.M.): $40,000 • Latino Hispanic Community Center: $25,000 • Heinz-Menaker Senior Center: $25,000 • Fair Housing Council: $25,000 • PPL/IN HOUSE: $20,000 • Shades of Greatness: $15,000 • Neighborhood Dispute Settlement: $5,000 At press time, council had not yet affirmed the final allocations. neW MonuMent to HonoR PRoMinent aFRican aMeRicans Harrisburg's Riverfront Park is dotted with historical monuments, but none of them honor African Americans. A group of citizens hopes to change that. Members of the Peace Promenade Project are asking city hall to green-light Harrisburg's first monument to African Americans, which they hope to erect near the corner of Forster and Front Streets by June 2019. eir proposal calls for a life-size tableau of four Pennsylvania abolitionists and voting-rights advocates: omas Chester, a Harrisburg-born journalist and attorney; William Howard Day, the first black school board director in Pennsylvania; Jacob Compton, a pastor who drove Abraham Lincoln's carriage during his visit to Harrisburg; and Frances Harper, a poet and women's rights activist. All except Harper lived in Harrisburg and are buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Penbrook. " is is an American monument that represents the continuing struggle for the full fulfillment of the 15th amendment," said Lenwood Sloan, leader of the Peace Promenade Project, which aims to rededicate Harrisburg's public monuments through a yearlong event series. Kelly Summerford, another project leader, said that the monument would also offer local students an opportunity to learn about abolition and voting rights. Mayor Eric Papenfuse said he met with the project leaders and enthusiastically supports the project. He also offered to help the group pursue a gaming grant from Dauphin County. e Peace Promenade group, which counts more than 200 members and 40 supporting organizations, plans to fund the monument through public support, corporate donations and individual giving. ey did not announce an anticipated budget. According to Summerford, the group plans to follow a process used by the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts to commission an artist and develop a design. ey hope to install the monument by "Juneteenth" 2019— the anniversary of June 19, 1865, the official announcement of the end of slavery in the former Confederacy. HaRRistoWn eyes anotHeR PRoJect Chalk up another apartment conversion for Harristown Enterprises. e Harrisburg-based company already has converted several rundown office buildings downtown to higher-end apartment buildings. Last month, it announced another—this one at 116 Pine St. "We feel very good about the rental market," said Harristown CEO Brad Jones. "We're trying to create more of a neighborhood downtown." e bank-owned, 54,600-square-foot building is on the market for $1.3 million. If Harristown completes the purchase, it plans to convert the circa-1946 building to 44 apartment units, its largest residential project to date. e five-story building currently houses several different entities, which would be relocated. e longstanding first- floor tenant, Alicia's Deli, is likely to remain in the building, Jones said. e building is directly next door to another office building at 124 Pine St. that Harristown currently has under contract from seller Keystone Human Services. City Council approved that project, which includes 25 apartment units and 19 parking spaces, in April. "Our intent is to build them together and have economies of scale," Jones said, adding that Harristown expects to invest some $12 million in the projects. Harristown has long been known as a commercial developer. However, it began to move into the multi- family residential market several years ago, focusing on rehabilitating old, often dilapidated and vacant office buildings, converting them to apartments. news state uRGes cHanGes to scHool PeRsonnel Soon after wrapping up a protracted battle over its superintendent, the Harrisburg school district may find itself in another personnel battle. e state Department of Education is asking the district to search for new leadership for its business office, which oversees budgets and financial management. In a letter to the district last month, department Secretary Pedro Rivera said that the district's chief financial officer and business manager do not meet the criteria set forth in its five-year recovery plan, which calls for full-time, permanent, highly qualified employees to fill both positions. e school board has final say on all district personnel actions. But board members, who diverged for the past six months over whether to replace or retain Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney, once again disagree on the need to seek new hires. Board President Judd Pittman interprets the letter as a directive from the state, giving the district no choice but to replace interim, part-time CFO James Snell and acting Business Manager Bilal Hasan. But board Vice President Danielle Robinson thinks the district should keep the current team. QoZ tRacts aPPRoveD e federal government last month approved all of the census tracts nominated for a new program aimed at spurring development in low-income communities. Six of those tracts are in Harrisburg. "Approval of our nominated tracts is an important step in the process of bringing critical investment and development to these areas," Gov. Tom Wolf said. "Designation as an opportunity zone is one piece of the puzzle that can help many of our distressed communities across the commonwealth." In April, Wolf nominated 300 low-income census tracts across the state as Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ), a status created under the 2017 federal tax reform bill. All were accepted. Six of Harrisburg's 14 census tracts were included in Wolf 's submission. e potential investment zones encompass the city's downtown area south of Forster Street, South Harrisburg, South and Central Allison Hill and the neighborhoods along the city's Cameron Street industrial corridor. e QOZ program aims to stimulate investment in low-income communities by providing tax breaks to private investors. It's expected to defer or reduce capital gains taxes to anyone who invests in funds supporting businesses, real estate and other ventures in the zones. e U.S. Department of the Treasury is still in the process of developing the program, and the IRS is expected to provide further information regarding opportunities for investment in zones in the coming months, according to Wolf 's office. To qualify for QOZ status, a census tract had to have at least a 20-percent poverty rate or a median family income less than 80 percent of the statewide or regional median income.

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