(HARRISBURG) – An incredible gift moves the Broad Street Market Tent one step closer to reality, as Harrisburg-area-based McClure Company, one of the region’s leaders in construction services, has offered to install plumbing at the temporary tent at no cost to the city.

The City of Harrisburg announced its partnership with McClure on Monday, February 23. McClure had already been installing a new HVAC system in the city’s Public Safety Building, according to President and CEO Shayne Homan, and was exploring ways to possibly donate to the city’s Broad Street Market Tent project. When Homan noticed the city had been struggling to secure seasoned contractors to complete plumbing tasks, the idea of going one step further started to take shape.

“Every time you turned on the news, it was impossible not to hear about it,” Homan said. “It became harder for us to sit back and watch it unfold, when we knew we had the capacity to do the job. We just wanted to figure out financially how to make it work and help the city out.”

In total, McClure’s estimated donation of parts and labor is between $65,000-70,000, according to Homan. You can read the terms of the contract here.

Their main job will be to feed hot and cold water to the 16 vendors who have designated space in the Broad Street Market Tent when it opens. Homan estimates needing a week to mobilize his teams, followed by an estimated two weeks of work inside the structure.

Work will be completed by members of the Local 520 Plumbers & Pipefitters union, based in Dauphin County.

“This shows that union members deeply care about helping the community,” said Jim Enders, President of the Central PA Building Trades.  “We live here. We play here. We care about what goes on here, and the Market has been a staple of the community for so long.”

McClure’s donation gives the City of Harrisburg a much-needed boost to help get the Broad Street Market temporary building across the construction finish line. Work had slowed after the Carpenters Union Local 432 finished constructing vendor space in the tent in late 2023.

This week, a contract was finalized for KCS Electric to complete all electrical work inside the tent. They will work in concert with McClure to ensure an expeditious completion on the inside of the structure. The City of Harrisburg hopes to have vendors move into their new, temporary home shortly after, with a spring 2024 projected opening.

“None of this happens if Harrisburg isn’t a proud, union-strong city,” said Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams. “The road to get our Broad Street Market back has not been easy but it will be worth it. McClure’s generous donation gets us one step closer to a grand re-opening.”

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Contact: Matt Maisel
Communications Director
[email protected]
(717) 255-7295