"URBAN MEADOW" WORK GETS UNDERWAY IN MIDTOWN; NEW POWERS & ASSOCIATES-CREATED GREENSPACE TO LINK HACC MIDTOWN CENTERS AND PARKING
New Park Space to Also be Used as Outdoor Classroom & Living Laboratory
Harrisburg, PA – Mayor Stephen R. Reed and officials from HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, and Powers & Associates, LLC today announced that work has now begun on the new Urban Meadows greenspace, a block-long urban parkway connecting the new HACC Midtown Center with other midtown points. The new park area is located along the former Boyd Street area between the 1500 blocks of N. Third and N. Fourth Streets, just north of Reily Street. Boyd Street has been vacated by the City for the project.
Reed said the Urban Meadows project is a centerpiece of the broader Midtown Master Plan unveiled in 2006 by the city and Powers & Associates, and when completed will provide a new urban park and outdoor learning center for HACC Midtown Center students and visitors and neighborhood residents. The Urban Meadow will connect the newly-opened HACC Midtown Center in the renovated Evangelical Press Building with the college’s existing Community Center for Technology and the Arts in the 1500 block of N. Fourth Street, also now undergoing a complete rehabilitation, and the newly-constructed surface parking lots along Reily Street that will service both facilities.
The Mayor said work to be done includes the removal of all existing hardscape and its replacement with new native grasses, trees and other greenery; the installation of benches, waste receptacles and accent lighting; the addition of new pedestrian crosswalks and architectural decorative pavers; and additional curb, street and infrastructure improvements. The Mayor commended Powers & Associates and HACC for their design, which emphasizes Pennsylvania made products and native plants.
"The Urban Meadow will be much more than just a new walkway," said the Mayor. "It is being purposefully designed and constructed by Powers & Associates and HACC to allow for its "green" oriented features, such as holding swales, stormwater removal systems, plantings and other elements to be incorporated into the many educational programs being conducted nearby by HACC, and thus, serving as a "living classroom" for students.
"The Urban Meadow is a spectacular and innovative integration of a learning environment, a transit corridor and park space," noted the Mayor.
Reed said work on the Urban Meadow greenspace is expected to be completed this summer.
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About Powers & Associates, LLC is a local developer dedicated to rehabilitation projects in previously developed areas in Dauphin, Cumberland, Lebanon, Lancaster, York and other midstate counties. Core services of the commercial development firm include real estate brokerage, marketing and consulting, and project and facility management.
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