The estate of late Lancaster County developer Richard Welkowitz is hoping to make a deal to settle its debts, according to a filing in Lancaster County court. The proposed deal would funnel money to the estate’s secured and unsecured creditors and it would allow the estate to avoid a potential tax hit, according to the […]
Everence Federal Credit Union, a Lancaster-based credit union, has named Kristen Heisey as its new president and CEO effective June 27. Heisey worked most recently as a senior vice president overseeing marketing, communications, data analytics, client experience and product innovation at York-based PeoplesBank, which she joined in 2018. She worked before that in leadership roles […]
Ritter Insurance Marketing, a Harrisburg-area firm that provides products and services to independent insurance agencies, has been sold. Dallas-based Integrity Marketing Group said May 18 it has agreed to buy Ritter, which employs about 280 people in Susquehanna Township and at satellite offices around the U.S.Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Craig Ritter, an owner […]
Mansfield-based First Citizens Community Bank has hired a veteran business lender to lead its expansion into the capital region. Dragan Dodik, who has worked for several other banks in the Harrisburg area, has joined First Citizens as a senior lender and market leader.He recently played a similar role for Mifflintown-based Pennian Bank, which went on […]
Harrisburg-based Andculture is poised to become part of Chicago-based accounting and advisory firm RSM US LLP. RSM said Thursday it has reached an agreement to buy Andculture, which specializes in marketing strategy, design and technology, Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But it is expected to close June 1, according to a press release. RSM was […]
Pennsylvania’s statewide business chamber has tapped a local banking executive as its next leader. Luke Bernstein, an executive at Shippensburg-based Orrstown Financial Services, is poised to become the next president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry. As of June 15, he will be taking over for Gene Barr, who announced his retirement last fall after […]
After raising roughly $10 million, a startup venture fund in York has disclosed an inaugural round of investments. Martin Fedorko, left, and Alexa Born founded White Rose Ventures in 2020 (photo/submitted). White Rose Ventures has plowed $1.73 million into companies in Lancaster, Harrisburg and YorkThe firm also unveiled a nonprofit, Braided River Collective, designed to support entrepreneurs around […]
The war of words over a regional bank is morphing into a war over board seats. An activist investor is nominating three members to the board of Codorus Valley Bancorp, a trio of executives the investor believes would better represent the interests of shareholders.The investor, Abbott Cooper of New York hedge fund Driver Management, has been pushing since last summer […]
Bank of Bird-in-Hand is seeking permission from state regulators to bring one of its mobile branches – dubbed Gelt buses – into upper Dauphin County. The buses are designed to serve the Amish and other members of the Plain community.
The past year has been a busy one for mergers and acquisitions in Central Pennsylvania. Take a closer look at the action in this month-by-month recap for 2021. Unless otherwise indicated, the deal terms were not disclosed. January: U-GRO Learning Centres, a Derry Township-based preschool chain, was purchased by Michigan-based Learning Care Group, one of […]
Martin Fedorko did not cross the finish line the first time he tried to create a venture fund in York County. But he came away with valuable lessons he is applying to his latest effort: White Rose Ventures Most importantly, he learned that York County’s would-be investors are indeed interested in backing local companies. They […]
For nearly two decades, Cumberland County tech company Versatile Credit has been making it easier for businesses to offer in-store credit. Its latest device, called Snap Sign, makes it as easy as pointing a mobile phone at a plastic sign. The signs are a secure, contactless alternative to in-store kiosks, tablets or paper applications that […]
The warehouse project is still a long way from approval. But concepts floated by Missouri-based NorthPoint Development show roughly 1.5 million to 2 million square feet of warehouse space in multiple buildings, according to Tim James, manager of Manchester Township, where the project is being considered.
Shortages of labor and materials are giving companies headaches. Michael Bistline is hoping to bring some targeted relief through a new venture launched this month by his Harrisburg-area business, Phillips Workplace Interiors. The venture is called Condivx and it aims to serve as a one-stop shop for general contractors looking for subcontractors at a time […]
Mobile Climate Control, which already has a distribution Center in York County, is consolidating all of its U.S. operations at a new facility in West Manchester Township.
The Pennsylvania Builders Association doesn’t oppose standards that ensure buildings are accessible to people with disabilities. It opposes the most-recent revision process, which could raise construction costs for multifamily buildings going forward,
In fall 2018, Dan Laird was crouching in a duck blind on Maryland’s Eastern Shore when a banker friend asked him about his plans for Commonwealth Fire Protection Co. Laird had taken over the Lancaster County company in 2017 after the death of his business partner and longtime friend, Paul Hoffnagle, in a chain-saw accident. […]
When the first cases of coronavirus in Pennsylvania were announced March 6, schools and businesses were open. A holiday photo of the Keystone Contractors Association staff, from left: Seth Kohr, safety director; Jon O’Brien, executive director; Melody O’Brien, office manager. PHOTO/SUBMITTED But as the virus spread over the next week, the Keystone Contractors Association decided […]
York-based architecture, engineering and design firm Warehaus has acquired a smaller neighbor with a client base spanning Pennsylvania and Maryland. The neighbor is West Manchester Township-based Johnston and Associates, founded in 1988 by Eric Johnston and specializing in all areas of land development, including zoning and environmental permitting. “This is an exciting milestone for our team,” Warehaus president, […]
In a 5-2 ruling last week, the state Supreme Court upheld the authority of state regulators to issue rules for testing medical marijuana products before they hit the shelves. The ruling overturns a 2023 decision by Commonwealth Court that found regulators had exceeded their authority. Nonetheless, Pennsylvania’s top court sent the case back to the lower […]
A real estate partnership headed by Lancaster-area investor Joe Deerin paid $10.76 million for Shops at Prospect, a 63,292-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping plaza in West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, according to county deed records. The seller, Brixmor GA Shops at Prospect LP, was represented by Colin Behr and Chris Munley of real estate firm CBRE. Brixmor, then under a […]
A regional engineering firm based in the Harrisburg area is expanding its reach in Central and eastern Pennsylvania. Herbert Rowland & Grubic Inc. in Swatara Township has scooped up Becker Engineering LLC, a smaller firm based in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. But HRG is retaining Becker’s office at […]
By 2030, the youngest baby boomers will be 65 years old. With 74 million people in this group, coupled with a worsening physician shortage, the need for tech innovation to address care gaps is critical. To address this need, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania (Ben Franklin CNP) hosted the AgeTech Techcelerator […]
Mid Penn Bancorp continued to expand its South Jersey footprint with the acquisition of community bank 1st Colonial Bancorp, Inc. in a combined stock and cash deal valued at $101 million. Twenty-four hours later, Mid Penn agreed to acquire Sarasota, Florida-based Cumberland Advisors in a deal that is expected to bring approximately $3.3 billion new […]
Advocates embrace data centers as engines of economic opportunity and a symbol of Pennsylvania’s appeal to high-tech industries, drawn, in part, by abundant supplies of energy. Critics are fighting back, citing the centers’ potential harm to the environment and quality of life in the communities where they are being proposed. Team Pennsylvania is hoping to […]
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held on Wednesday to mark the commencement of work converting the private grounds of the Appell family into a public garden. Louis and Jody Appell were well-known in the York community for their philanthropy and their passion for horticulture. The Powder Mill Foundation was established by Louis J. Appell, Jr. in […]
Hanover-based snack maker Utz Brands said yesterday it plans to eliminate by the end of 2027 any artificial food colorings from the minority of the company’s snacks where they’re found. The move comes amid growing scrutiny of the additives, led by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Other food companies, including The […]
Childcare providers were already struggling to keep up with the demand for their services. Then came the deadlock over the state budget, which has lasted nearly three months. For each week without a state budget, providers in Central Pennsylvania are missing out on about $1.1 million in state subsidies, according to Christy Renjilian, executive director […]
Confusion is giving way to a bit of clarity as employers wrap their heads around a new Trump administration policy enacting steep fees on visas allowing foreign-born workers to hold jobs in the U.S. When the policy was announced on Friday, employers worried they might have to pay to bring current visa holders back into the […]
Over the last two-plus years, Michael Wilson has been putting his stamp on Members 1st Federal Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions in Pennsylvania. As chief executive, he is spearheading the credit union’s adoption of new technologies, including artificial intelligence and stablecoin – a form of digital currency that companies will be allowed […]
Utz Brands plans to upgrade its headquarters building at 900 High St. in Hanover and sell off two other buildings. The renovations at 900 High are expected to begin next year and will make room for employees moving from other Utz facilities in the York County borough, including an employee fitness center and warehouse at […]
Triad Strategies, a Harrisburg-based lobbying firm in the state, undertook a strategic reorganization that gives staff members new titles and responsibilities. Mike Manzo has been promoted to executive vice president of government affairs, taking on an expanded role overseeing firmwide strategy, client service and deliverables. Doug Rohanna has been named senior vice president of public […]
Scott Eden, former owner of Holy Hound Taproom in York, is planning to open a franchised location of Federal Donuts & Chicken at College Row, a mixed-use building along Harrisburg Pike near Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, according to Lancaster-based TRUE Commercial Real Estate. The store is slated to open in early 2026 in a space formerly occupied by La […]
In a one-page order issued yesterday morning, a Lancaster County judge agreed to block Lancaster’s zoning hearing board from considering issues related to multibillion-dollar data center projects in the city. The board was scheduled to hold a hearing Monday to air the appeal of a city resident who questioned how the data centers were being […]
Ryan MacDonald has joined the litigation team in the Lancaster office of law firm McNees Wallace & Nurick. MacDonald was previously an attorney at Lancaster-based Brubaker Connaughton Goss & Lucarelli. He focuses his practice on commercial litigation, representing businesses, shareholders and executives in disputes involving corporate control, contracts and business torts. He has served as […]
A former furniture store in Red Lion is poised to become an apartment building. York County developer Jordan Ilyes plans to convert the former Zarfos Furniture building at 21 W. Broadway into a 28-unit apartment building with two ground-floor retail spaces. Ilyes previously transformed a pair of vacant factories on North Franklin St., and he said the […]
Thanks to a recent court ruling, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania could be on the hook for more than $100 million in tax refunds to businesses. The ruling came in a case that arose over provisions outlining how companies can use past losses to lower their tax bills. Some corporate taxpayers have claimed, successfully, that provisions […]
Pennsylvania has many of the ingredients for an economy powered by innovation and entrepreneurship, according to a report released today by Brookings Institution, a prominent think tank in Washington, D.C. However, the state has struggled to bake them into a dynamic, high-growth economy, putting large swaths of Pennsylvania at risk of stagnation, said the report, which offers […]
Pennsylvania is home to two of the most closely watched elections in the U.S. One, for a U.S. Senate seat, pits Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, against Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Republican. They are running to replace Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican who is retiring. The other is the race for governor, which features […]
Amid a broader push to boost the outdoors economy in Pennsylvania, a new state park is coming to the banks of the Susquehanna River in York County. The tentatively titled Susquehanna Riverlands State Park is one of three new parks unveiled yesterday by Gov. Tom Wolf and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy […]
A state court has sided with online retailers who say they are being unfairly targeted by Pennsylvania tax collectors. In a ruling Friday, Commonwealth Court blocked efforts by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue to collect state sales and personal income taxes from the retailers, which sell their products through Amazon.At issue are back taxes the state […]
State officials are giving an $8.4 million boost to plans for an innovation park in Columbia. The Lancaster County borough is collecting a grant of nearly $3.4 million and a loan of just over $5 million to help cover the costs of developing the McGinness Innovation Park on the site of a former airport in the […]
Pennsylvania’s small businesses are in line for a capital infusion of nearly $268 million under a program announced July 18 by the Wolf Administration The money is coming from the federal government via the American Rescue Plan ActBut it will be distributed by the state, specifically the state Department of Community and Economic Development.Other hands […]
State lawmakers last week delivered a tax cut long sought by Pennsylvania’s business community. But in adopting a $45.2 billion budget on July 8 for the current fiscal year, they left out other sought-after provisions. The headline news is the immediate cut and subsequent phase-down of the state’s corporate net income tax, which had been […]
Pennsylvania’s statewide business chamber has tapped a local banking executive as its next leader. Luke Bernstein, an executive at Shippensburg-based Orrstown Financial
State officials on Friday unveiled more than $50 million in grants earmarked for projects around Central Pennsylvania, including a life sciences incubator in Lancaster, a hotel renovation on the West Shore and a park along the Codorus Creek in York. Other beneficiaries include Rock Lititz and the partnership developing a mixed-use apartment building near the […]
A buyer has finalized the $10.01 million purchase of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in downtown Harrisburg. However, the buyer’s identity remains a mystery.A deed filed with Dauphin County lists the buyer as R.R.F. Building LLC,which has a tax billing address at a law firm in South Carolina. Efforts to reach the law firm, De Bruin Law, were not […]
A growing number of companies cannot take advantage of one of Pennsylvania’s most popular tax-credit programs.
Federal housing officials are objecting to the proposed sale of Governor’s Square, a beleaguered Harrisburg apartment complex whose owner declared bankruptcy last year In a court filing this week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development argues there are not enough guarantees that the potential deal will preserve the complex’s status as affordable housing. […]
State regulators have tweaked regulations that modify the professional licensing process for people with criminal backgrounds, following stiff pushback from critics of the original proposal. The rules implement a 2020 state law making it easier for people with criminal convictions to become accountants, barbers, nurses and real estate agents, among the many other professions that require a […]
A Lebanon County judge has sided with a North Annville Township decision shooting down developers hoping to plant a roughly 858-acre solar farm in the rural municipality west of Lebanon city. The ruling, handed down last week, upholds a 2022 vote by North Annville supervisors to deny a conditional use permit to Lebanon Solar I LLC, […]
In a lawsuit filed this month, Lancaster city is accusing a neighboring township of not doing enough to prevent stormwater from flowing into the city’s sewer system, a problem that has been brewing for years. Among other alleged failures, officials in Manheim Township have not required developers to install adequate stormwater controls or paid for […]
One of Harrisburg’s oldest law firms is winding down. Five attorneys and a team of administrative professionals from 152-year-old Nauman Smith Shissler & Hall are joining the capital city office of Philadelphia-based Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, effective Feb. 1. The move caps conversations that started in early 2023 between the two firms, said Steven Williams, the […]
A state appeals court has sided with a local developer aiming to build a warehouse complex in Swatara Township, Dauphin County. The decision is the latest in a long-running battle over whether warehouses should be allowed on tracts along Route 322 east of Harrisburg, near Penhar Drive. State court shot down a previous developer’s efforts in […]
A state court has shelved the Red Book, a compendium of wholesale drug prices that state officials routinely use to settle disputes over drug costs in Pennsylvania’s worker’s comp program. In a ruling this week, Commonwealth Court disqualified use of the book after an insurer challenged it, claiming the book’s listed prices were not accurate. […]
UPMC is facing a class-action lawsuit filed by a respiratory therapist who claims she was misclassified as an independent contractor when she worked at the health system’s Harrisburg hospital in 2022. The suit, filed last week in an Allegheny County court, claims the therapist should have been classified as an employee and paid overtime when she […]
Local law firms are starting the new year with new attorneys in their top ranks. And one even has a new CEO. That would be Lancaster-based Barley Snyder, which elected Jennifer Craighead Carey as managing partner and CEO for a two-year term starting in 2024. She succeeds Jeff Lobach, who had led the firm for a […]
An affiliate of real estate developer Inch & Co. is challenging a decision that reversed the zoning on a parcel of land it owns near Route 30 and Pennsylvania Avenue in Manchester Township, York County. Township officials rezoned the property in 2021 for industrial development. But after fierce public outcry and a challenge from the owner […]
A state court has tossed aside regulations that would have enrolled Pennsylvania in a multistate carbon-cutting program, regulations that were a climate-change priority for the former administration of Gov. Tom Wolf. At issue was whether the heart of the program — a market in which companies must buy credits to emit carbon — represented a fee […]
Gratz borough in Dauphin County failed to properly advertise a meeting where it set stricter zoning standards for solar energy systems even as a company was seeking permission to build a 17-megawatt project there. That was the ruling last week from a three-judge panel of Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court, which upheld a 2022 decision by Dauphin […]
A Lancaster County developer has lost its bid to overturn a zoning decision blocking a mixed-use development in Manheim Township. In a ruling this week, a county judge upheld the township’s denial of plans for Oregon Village, a proposed development that would bring housing, offices, shops and a hotel to a nearly 76-acre tract that […]
Mid Penn Bank is firing back at claims it did not adequately protect a nonprofit from fraud. In a legal filing this month, the Harrisburg-based bank alleges that the Center for Independent Living of Central Pennsylvania harmed the bank’s reputation in a press release issued in February announcing a lawsuit against the bank. In the press release, the center claimed […]
A federal court has approved a settlement in a data-breach lawsuit brought against Fulton Bank. Under the agreement, the Lancaster-based bank will pay $750,000 to set up a fund to compensate victims of the breach, which hit a Fulton Bank vendor rather than the bank itself. The bank is not admitting any liability for the breach, […]
The bankrupt owners of an uptown Harrisburg apartment complex want to hire a firm that specializes in real estate liquidation to sell the property in an auction. In a motion filed in bankruptcy court, apartment owners Uptown Partners LP are seeking court approval to hire Hilco Real Estate LLC to oversee a sale of the complex, known as Governor’s Square. […]
Companies that test, grow and process medical cannabis in Pennsylvania are suing to block a rule they say could cost them millions of dollars and ultimately raise prices for patients. The rule, which had been slated to take effect this week, alters the requirements for testing cannabis before and after it is processed into medication […]
A shareholder of Centric Financial is seeking to block the Harrisburg-area bank’s planned merger into a western Pennsylvania bank. In a class-action lawsuit filed this month in Cumberland County court, shareholder Charles Reinhardt claims the $144 million deal undervalues Centric, which is based in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County. The lawsuit also takes aim at other terms of […]
Local shopping centers are continuing to attract interest from area buyers. The latest example is Penn Plaza, an 82,500 square-foot shopping center at 1019 Baltimore St. in Penn Township, York County, outside Hanover. The Trone Family Trust, based in Hanover, paid $2.2 million for the plaza, which counts an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet store and a Ninja Logic gym among […]
A Hanover-area mall is under new ownership. Plymouth Meeting-based real estate company Pennmark Management paid $28.75 million for Gateway Hanover, a 192,774 square-foot shopping center just north of the York County borough. It was developed starting in 2010.The seller was Hanover-based Conewago North Ridge Partners LP, according to Brad Rohrbaugh, retail director for York-based real estate firm Bennett Williams […]
Last fall, Lancaster-based private equity firm PennSpring Capital bought a majority stake in Mobiniti, a text marketing firm based in Wilkes-Barre. This week, a PennSpring entity paid $1.55 million for a building in Lancaster where it plans to relocate the operations of Mobiniti, which employs about 20 people.The move brings Mobiniti closer to PennSpring, which offers support to […]
A Harrisburg-based, youth-focused nonprofit has purchased the longtime home of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association at 3899 N. Front St. Youth Advocate Programs Inc. paid $2.235 million for the 18,000 square-foot building in Susquehanna Township, according to Dauphin County deed records.The nonprofit — which provides community-based services to at-risk youth — plans to move around 80 staff members there […]
A mixed-use development is taking shape along Route 15 in Upper Allen Township, Cumberland County. Camp Hill developer Linlo Properties began site work in May for the project, dubbed The Mills at Shepherdstown Crossing.Once completed, it will bring 54 apartments, retail space, a Burger King and a Chick-fil-A to the intersection of Gettysburg Pike and South Market Street, which offers access to […]
As it gears up for a move to Philadelphia, Harsco has unloaded its longtime Wormleysburg headquarters this year for $4.3 million. However, the roughly 42,000 square-foot building will remain a corporate headquarters.A partnership that includes Lemoyne-based Rhodes Development Group bought the building and plans to move there, along with two of its operating divisions, according to Larry Kluger, president and […]
Seeking a more modern office environment for its York-area staff, a Lancaster-based residential real estate firm is moving down the street. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty bought an office building at 2600 Eastern Blvd. in Springettsbury Township and plans to move its staff there in mid to late September, according to Rod Messick, the firm’s CEO.Homesale Realty plans […]
When Seth Hughes first stepped onto a construction site as a teenager, he didn’t think about owning a construction company someday. But as his career advanced, it started to emerge as a goal, Hughes said.The goal is now a reality. Hughes has purchased Mechanicsburg-based Mowery Construction from its previous owner, David Cross. The pair began laying the groundwork […]
State officials are giving an $8.4 million boost to plans for an innovation park in Columbia. The Lancaster County borough
A piece of Harrisburg history is on the market — and potentially headed for a makeover. Penn Center Harrisburg, the former Polyclinic Hospital campus, is being listed at an asking price of $22 million — and with a sketch plan showing the office property as an apartment complex. “I think that the office need in Harrisburg is low,” […]
One of the region’s largest residential real estate firms just got larger. As of July 12, Lancaster-based Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty has absorbed Brownstone Real Estate, adding two offices and 38 agents in Lebanon and Hershey.Terms of the merger were not disclosed.“After 51 years in business, it was important for us to join a […]
RLS Construction Group LLC is investing nearly $1.5 million to buy and remodel the former Hampden Township municipal building at 230 S. Sporting Hill Road. The new location in Cumberland County will allow the company to consolidate operations that are currently at two locations, said Bob Schopfer, owner, president and CEO of RLS Construction.The company […]
A prime Carlisle Pike property has changed hands. A New York-based partnership paid nearly $5.5 million in June for the former home of N.B. Liebman Furniture at 4705 Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township, according to Cumberland County deed records.The site — which was owned by members of the Liebman family — was once eyed as […]
Penn State trustees voted this week to move ahead with a deal to sell two on-campus hotels to a third-party operator, Ardmore-based Scholar Hotel Group. Under the proposed agreement, Penn State would keep the land and lease it, while Scholar would buy The Nittany Lion Inn and Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State […]
A developer is filling in some of the details on its plans to transform the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in Harrisburg into “The Federal” — a 200-unit luxury apartment building crowned with a rooftop bar and a pair of restaurants. Developer Global Ocean Investments had already unveiled a goal of remaking the 250,000 square-foot building […]
A staple of downtown New Cumberland is poised for a makeover. New owners have taken over a group of properties that include the former Coakley’s Restaurant and Irish Pub, which closed in 2014 after going bankrupt.Plans are still taking shape. But Kara Pierce said she and her partner, engineering executive Bill Tafuto, plan to invest […]
Burkentine Builders is gearing up to finish a mixed-use project that will bring another brewery to southern York County. The Hanover-based builder held a topping-off ceremony April 25 for the roughly $5 million project, which is bringing two buildings totaling 10,000 square feet of commercial space and 20 apartments to the borough of New Freedom.Construction […]
State officials on Friday unveiled more than $50 million in grants earmarked for projects around Central Pennsylvania, including a life