Council reviews plan for new parks maintenance facility; SRTA-led multi‑phase redevelopment to follow

Councilwoman Daniels, chair of the Community and Economic Development committee, presented Resolution 21 of 2025, a request to approve a preliminary/final lot consolidation and land‑development plan for a new City of Harrisburg parks maintenance facility at the corner of Hurst and Cameron streets.

Bill Schnoor, consulting engineer with Stantec, told the committee the proposal is “the first phase, to construct a new parks maintenance facility” on properties currently owned by SRTA that will, upon completion, be transferred to the city at no cost to permit SRTA to demolish the existing parks facility and build a consolidated SRTA operations and maintenance campus.

Planning Director Jeffrey Knight explained the project sequencing: SRTA (the regional transportation authority named in the packet) is acting as master developer for a multi‑phase redevelopment of the block. The first step is building the new parks maintenance facility on SRTA‑owned parcels. Once the new facility is complete, SRTA will demolish the city’s existing facility and advance its larger operations and maintenance building on the larger consolidated footprint.

The planning bureau reported the site comprises five parcels, including a former gas station canopy and several paved, underutilized lots. The proposal calls for on‑site stormwater management, sidewalks widened along Cameron and Hurst streets, pedestrian improvements for nearby transit and the Sunshine Park vicinity, and a fence along the frontage with all vehicular access consolidated to North Twelfth Street. The bureau also said the site lies in the 100‑year floodplain and the applicants are coordinating a FEMA letter of map revision; the revision would reduce the base flood elevation by about three feet and affect construction feasibility and required elevation measures.

The planning commission recommended approval subject to conditions, including FEMA approval of the letter of map revision, city arborist coordination to increase canopy and pollinator plantings, final demolition and construction approvals, and removal of the southernmost Twelfth Street vehicle access to simplify circulation near Sunshine Park. The project team said it had coordinated building layout with the parks department, that the main maintenance building will include administrative space and drive‑through garage doors for equipment, and that storage and materials bins will be provided on site.

Council members asked about ownership and sequencing; city solicitor representatives and SRTA staff said the intention is for SRTA to convey the completed parks facility site to the city and for the city to transfer its former site to SRTA for their larger project. Staff advised that the land‑transfer and right‑of‑way changes will come back to council in a series of legislative documents over time, and that the overall redevelopment carries multiple approvals and regulators. Presenters estimated the broader SRTA project at approximately $150 million.

Council members raised operational questions: impacts on bus service, coordination of highway occupancy permits with PennDOT for sidewalk and driveway work on Cameron Street, inclusion of local contractors during procurement, and whether the Twelfth Street approach will be resurfaced as part of the project. The applicants and planning staff said additional approvals and detailed contract packages will be brought to council as the project advances.

The committee recommended the resolution be forwarded to the next legislative session for council action.