The state Department of General Services has hired
Lancaster-based RGS Associates Inc. to develop recommendations for future use
of the former Harrisburg State Hospital property — now a 303-acre office
complex that is emptying out.
RGS, a civil engineering and land planning firm, was one
of five companies that expressed interest when the commonwealth asked for
proposals to draft a report on the property's future, said Troy Thompson, a DGS
spokesman.
The two-year contract awarded to RGS, worth $258,900,
began today.
"We don't expect it to take two years to submit a
report," Thompson said. "But all of that will be determined after the
initial meeting to develop a timeline based on the scope of work."
RGS is tasked with developing recommendations for future
uses of the site, known as the DGS Annex. Any recommendations would be
submitted to the General Assembly for final approval.
"Community engagement, historical preservation and
environmental effects — among other issues — are all being considered,"
DGS Secretary Curt Topper said.
Under a 2014 leasing deal with Harristown Enterprises
that begins in March, DGS has been moving about 900 state employees from the
DGS Annex into the newly renovated Commonwealth Tower, formerly the Verizon
Tower, on Walnut Street in downtown Harrisburg.
"That annex will be vacant and become surplus,"
Thompson said.
The Harrisburg State Hospital opened in 1851 and operated
until 2006. The hospital took up about 140 acres of the 303-acre tract along
Cameron Street.
Source: Central
Penn Business Journal
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