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Harborplace Phase 2: developer previews AC Marriott, rooftop venues and parking trade-offs
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Summary
Scott Enterprises presented a Phase 2 update for Harborplace that would add an AC Marriott hotel (~140 rooms), two rooftop venues and expanded surface parking unless a proposed 500-space structured garage funded through pending CRIS funding is approved; the commission recommended the waterfront conditional use to city council.
A representative for Scott Enterprises briefed the Planning Commission on Harborplace Phase 2, reiterating the long-term master plan for the waterfront and the need to balance parking, open space and future structured garages.
Phase 2 would include an AC Marriott hotel about eight stories tall with roughly 140 rooms, rooftop restaurant venues and a seventh-floor event space. The developer said the project will initially rely on expanded surface parking (approximately 386 spaces for the site) unless CRIS funding approved in Harrisburg enables construction of a proposed 500-space structured parking garage that would reduce surface lots and free space for parks and amenities. “If [the parking garage] is completed, then we will not have to do the surface parking that’s going to be required for us to get this first or the second hotel finished,” the presenter said.
The master plan anticipates a sequence of up to seven phases with a mix of commercial, retail and residential uses, linear parks, an ice rink, splash fountains and improved waterfront walkways. The presenter said Phase 2 would provide about 77,000 square feet of open space by completion of that phase and that most staging and material storage would occur on-site to limit disruption to Front Street; initial site work could begin mid-to-late summer with construction lasting around two years for the hotel.
Commissioners raised traffic and green-space questions; the presenter responded that Phase 1 infrastructure reduces the need for broad public-right-of-way disruptions and that the team is pursuing funding sources to accelerate structured parking. After discussion, the commission moved and seconded a recommendation to city council to approve the waterfront conditional use; staff will forward the commission’s recommendation and comments to council for their public hearing and decision.
