NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
12 November 2002

NEW PENN CENTER OFFICE COMPLEX TO OCCUPY FORMER POLYCLINIC HOSPITAL SITE; PA DEPT. OF STATE TO BE FIRST MAJOR TENANT

Harrisburg, PA—A portion of the strategic Polyclinic Hospital site in Uptown Harrisburg will become a major new office complex known as the Penn Center Harrisburg, bringing hundreds of new jobs and retaining hundreds more, Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced in conjunction with State Senator Jeffrey Piccola and State Representative Ron Buxton. The new office complex will eventually realize nearly 305,000 sq. ft. of fully renovated office space.

Reed said the Penn Center Harrisburg project involves the complete rehabilitation of the northern portion of the former Polyclinic Hospital site, including the 190,000 sq. ft. Main Building, the 25,000 sq. ft. Kline Building, and the 90,000 sq. ft. Education Building, all of which are presently vacant. The project is being undertaken by the local development firm Daley/Morris Partners, whose principals are noted city attorney Burton Morris and local attorney Michael Daley.

The Mayor said the developers have secured their first major tenant, the PA Dept. of State, which will occupy 75,000 sq. ft. of space in the Main Building at a rehabilitation cost of more than $4 million. The space will be utilized by the Bureau of Occupational and Professional Affairs, which regulates and licenses 27 different occupations and professions. 270 employees will be relocated to the site, where various state hearings, board meetings and more will be soon be conducted.

Interior demolition will begin on December 1st and the site should be ready for occupancy in May of 2003. Altogether, the site provides nearly 7 acres of office and parking space in the Uptown neighborhood of the city, bringing significant economic impact to the surrounding area.

“This is a major new development project that will both retain good-paying existing jobs in the city, as well as encourage new businesses and employees,” said Mayor Stephen R. Reed. “We salute the good and tenacious efforts of the project developers to return this strategically-located site to productive use in the City of Harrisburg.

“Our special acknowledgement is also extended to the PA Dept. of State for their decision to retain their headquarters in Harrisburg, and the special efforts of Senator Piccola and Representative Buxton in helping to secure this new anchor tenant.”

Reed said the project team retained by the Daley/Morris Partnership includes Darrell Sunday Associates – Project Architect, Crossgates Inc. – Project Manager, Lobar Associates – General Contractor, and Klett, Rooney, Lieber & Schorling as project legal counsel.

The Mayor said the project will enable substantial additional growth at the site in the future, and will include an on-site daycare facility for working parents. Polyclinic Hospital will retain and continue to operate the buildings located to the south of Polyclinic Avenue.

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