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
26 February 2003

HARRISBURG POLYTECHNIC PREP SCHOOL AND HIGH-TECH BUSINESS INCUBATOR TO BE LOCATED IN FORMER DOWNTOWN YWCA SITE

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that the former YWCA building at 215 Market Street will soon house the Harrisburg Polytechnic Institute’s high school-level Preparatory School and the separate Institute Business Incubator. More than $7 million in rehabilitation work will now get underway at the historic site, with a completion date of Spring, 2004 anticipated.

Reed said today’s announcement is a major step towards the establishment of the Harrisburg Polytechnic Institute, a technology-oriented university that will be located in Harrisburg. The Polytechnic Preparatory School now being launched will enable as many as 250 city and other high school students to receive advanced mathematics and science training in the Information Technology industries, with many expected to go on to attend the actual Polytechnic University when it becomes operational.

The Mayor said the Business Incubator space will be ready for occupancy by Summer, 2004, and classes in the new Preparatory School will begin in September of 2004. Students enrolled in the Prep program will actually begin classes in the 2003-04 school year in classroom space at the Rowland School on Derry Street.

The Mayor said the YWCA work announced today will involve the complete rehabilitation of the building’s 71,800 sq. ft. of space, with 15,000 sq. ft. allocated for the business incubator project. The remaining 56,000 sq. ft. will be transformed into state-of-the-art classrooms and other school space. New roofing, HVAC, and electrical systems will also be installed as part of the project.

Reed said the site has been in the forefront of the city’s development since the early 19th Century, with various hotels and retail department stores occupying the spot since at least 1829. Noted retailers Soutter’s Department Store and the G.C. Murphy Co. 5 & 10 Store were previously located there, as was the Hotel Carlton.

“This is major step towards the creation of the Harrisburg Polytechnic University,” said Mayor Stephen R. Reed, “and our appreciation is appropriately extended to Allfirst and M&T Banks for their cooperation in providing the site at a discounted price. In time, this site will become one of the most dynamic locations for education and business, not only in Harrisburg, but throughout Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic United States.

“Further, it will have a dramatic, synergistic impact upon the downtown and the future of public education in this community. Students attending the Preparatory School will have the opportunity to further their education in the Polytechnic University, or go straight into the IT workforce, thus providing area technology-oriented companies with a well-trained and midstate-based workforce.”

“One of the great problems facing Pennsylvania today is the continual loss of our talented young people,” said David Schankweiler, Chairman of Harrisburg Polytechnic. “It’s about getting them while in high school and continuing the process through college at Harrisburg Polytechnic. What makes Harrisburg’s new university so exciting is that it tackles both sides of the Brain Drain – retaining talent and attracting additional talent from outside the region.”

Mel Schiavelli, Acting President of the Polytechnic Institute, said: “Just like the conception of the University of Pennsylvania in 1749 and Carnegie Mellon in 1900, today Harrisburg embarks on its own course for the creation and dissemination of knowledge, thanks in large part to the vision and tenacity of Mayor Reed.”

“We’re pleased to help continue downtown Harrisburg’s resurgence,” said Joseph Beck, Harrisburg Market President for Allfirst. “It is very exciting to have this building be returned to productive use as a focal point for high-technology training in Harrisburg.”

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