August 2011 Greater Harrisburg's Community Newspaper - theBurg

Street Corners
HMAC Poised to Step Forward
Arts center settles bank, city loans; secures new funding.
Peter Durantine
With the final details on financing
nearly settled, the owners of the
Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center said
construction to finish the project that
stalled two years ago should begin
soon and is expected to last no more
than six months.
“We’re hoping for a New Year’s
opening,” said John Traynor, one of the
owners of the entertainment complex
at 1110 N. 3rd St. that includes Stage
on Herr, the 3,500-square-foot live
performance venue at 268 Herr St.
that opened in 2009.
Traynor said he and his partner,
Gary Bartlett, along with their investor
team, Greendale Group LLC, bought
their bank note last month from
Susquehanna Bank, which had at one
point threatened to auction off HMAC
for the $667,000 owed the bank.
HMAC’s partners settled their
debt and obtained financing to
complete construction. They sold
their federal historic tax credits for $1
million, secured $1.8 million in a Small
Business Administration loan and
obtained $3.2 million in other bank
and private financing, they said.
Last month, they
also paid off a $100,000
loan they obtained
from Harrisburg two
years ago through
an economic
development program,
a reimbursal confirmed
by the city.
When done, the $6
million HMAC complex
will be an important
piece of Midtown’s
emerging arts corridor
along N. 3rd St., joining
two other projects expected to get
underway this fall—the $5.5 million
Susquehanna Art Museum two blocks
north at 3rd and Calder and the Furlow
Building, a $5 million apartment house
renovation project just up the street.
The first phase of HMAC’s
construction includes finishing
the 10,000-square-foot theatrical
playhouse, which will have a secondtier
gallery that will increase audience
capacity to 1,200–700 seating and 500
standing, large enough for national
acts, Traynor said.
Additional work will include a
2,500-square-foot art gallery, five bars
in addition to the bar at Stage on Herr
and a seafood restaurant. “It’s going
to be the premier fish restaurant in
central Pennsylvania,” Traynor said.
The second phase of construction
will include finishing HMAC’s indoor
pool. The architect on the project
is Bret Peters, owner of OPA in
Harrisburg.
Wohlsen Construction is under
contract to do the work. The firm’s
John Kauffman said construction
permits need to be pulled and plans
and paperwork need
to be finalized before
work can begin.
New York-based
Acoustic Dimensions, a
firm that has done such
venues as the Lincoln
Center in Manhattan
and the Pullo Center
at Penn State
York, has been
hired to install the
acoustics in the
playhouse and is
working with OPA.
“It’s a
wonderful project,”
said Acoustic’s
Chris Brooks, a
violinist who is
doing the design
at HMAC and
works out of the
Lancaster office.
“It’s going to be a
very nice space,”
he said, noting he
intends to perform
at the playhouse’s
opening.
Highwater
Management,
a Rehoboth
Beach, Del.-based
food service
and restaurant
management firm,
has been hired to
operate HMAC’s
restaurant and
bars.
When
the project is
completed,
Traynor said HMAC
is expected to
create 50-plus
jobs in kitchen,
wait and bar
staff as well as
sound engineers,
maintenance,
security and
others.
For more information
about the Harrisburg
Midtown Arts Center,
including a schedule
of events, visit www.
harrisburgarts.com.
Moving forward: The front of the Harrisburg
Midtown Arts Center has been prettied up with
paint and plantings in recent months (top); and
work continues on HMAC’s expansive playhouse
(bottom).
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