Absence makes the list grow longer.
- It has been more than a year since state officials dished out funding under the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, aka RACP, a state program that backs high-profile projects around the state.
- Now, for the first time under Gov. Josh Shapiro, the state is preparing to award funding once again following an application round that closed Jan. 12.
- But first, officials must comb through dozens of applications from developers and local governments hoping to grab a piece of a roughly $100 million pie.
Who applied: Dozens of high-profile projects and companies from around Central Pennsylvania, according to application documents available online. They include:
- 1422 Route 179 Florida LLC, the New Jersey-based developer hoping to transform Harrisburg’s former federal building into apartments, which is seeking $5 million toward a roughly $38.7 million conversion project.
- Clair Global, a live-entertainment company, which is seeking $30 million toward construction of a roughly $61.8 million HQ at Rock Lititz.
- Gettysburg Road Investors LLC, a firm headed by John Ortenzio that is asking for $3 million toward a proposed $6.4 million business park at 4511-4517 Gettysburg Road in Lower Allen Township, Cumberland County.
- High Properties LP, a Lancaster-based real estate company, which would like $4 million toward an $8 million project involving site work in the Greenfield North area of the Greenfield business park, where the company is planning a $150 million mixed-use development.
- Inch & Co., a York-area real estate company, which is asking for $3 million to back construction of a $6 million recreational sports complex in North York.
- OZFund Inc., a Lancaster-area investment firm aiming to land $500,000 for a $1 million project to fit out space for a grocery store in an affordable apartment building the company is erecting at 800 S. Queen St.
- Redevelopment Authority of the City of York, which would like $5 million toward the nearly $12.5 million cleanup and renovation of the former Dentsply Sirona campus, which is poised for rehabilitation by private developers.
- Shippensburg University, which is looking for $2 million toward creation of a $4 million entrepreneurship and innovation hub on campus.
- The Bridge HBG LLC, a Harrisburg-based firm that would like $7.5 million toward a $15 million project that is part of redeveloping the former Bishop McDevitt High School.
- York County Industrial Development Authority, which is seeking $1.5 million toward a $3 million project to fit out street-level restaurant space at the Yorktowne Hotel in downtown York.
What’s next: The public has until Feb. 29 to comment on the proposed projects, part of what is being dubbed Funding Round 2023.
- The application process is competitive, as the statewide demand for funding routinely exceeds the supply.
- Projects can come away empty-handed or with less than they sought.
- The state is expected to award around $100 million in the current fiscal year, which began last July, according to estimates by the Independent Fiscal Office, a state agency that tracks economic and budgetary data.
- The annual amount has fluctuated over the last five years, ranging from $99.9 million in 2021-2022 to $172.8 million in 2018-19.
- In 2022-23, the final RACP awards under former Gov. Tom Wolf, the state handed out $166.8 million.
- Winners included both private- and public-sector projects.
