After 40 years in the Veterans Memorial Building on the first block of Market Street in downtown Harrisburg, the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission (TCRPC) has moved its offices to the third floor of Strawberry Square.
According to TCRPC Executive Director Steve Deck, the move was necessitated due to the sale of the Veterans building, built in 1920, and its planned conversion into apartments.
“We've very glad for the opportunity because it's allowed us to move to the heart of a vibrant neighborhood that includes Harrisburg University, SoMa, new shops and restaurants, redeveloped residential buildings and much more,” Deck explained. “It’s fitting for a regional planning agency like ours to be in a historic part of town that’s recently seen such tremendous growth and evolution.”
He added that having Harristown Enterprises as its new landlord and moving into Strawberry Square’s Lerner Tower, with buildings originally constructed over 100 years ago, sends a clear message that TCRPC is living up to its mission “to foster the long-term livability and vitality of our communities, counties and region.”
Deck noted that the new office is about the same size as the old one, at roughly 4,600 square feet.
Founded in 1966, TCRPC provides land use and transportation planning for the three counties in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metropolitan area, which includes 103 municipalities and nearly 600,000 residents, according to the 2020 Census.
With a staff of 13, its primary programs include: the Regional Growth Management Plan, which promotes economic growth and revitalization; the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study (HATS), the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the three-county region; and staff support for the Dauphin County and Perry County planning commissions.
It also launched the SusqueCycle bike share program two years ago.
TCRPC’s new address is 320 Market Street, Suite 301E, Harrisburg, PA 17101.