The area map published with the Lancaster Newspapers story headed, “F&M plans urban parkway,” identifies the proposed “urban conservancy” and the Farmingdale Trail park, as well as Long’s Park on the other side of Harrisburg Pike, but the map does not identify the large tract of land between these two natural areas. This section of land, 90 acres in size, is where High Real Estate Group (HREG) plans to build a shopping center the size of 13 football fields.
The village-style shopping center, called The Crossings at Conestoga Creek, will be built in a flood plain created by two branches of the Little Conestoga Creek (shown as a blue line in the LN area map). The Manheim Township Commissioners have accepted HREG’s own flood plain proposal that would allow them to build closer to the creek than was allowed in Manheim Township’s flood plain ordinance.
Originally, this property – currently farmland – was a 500-year flood plain but, after Park City Center was built, this was changed to a 100-year flood plain. Homeowners in the area have reported water run-off problems. Some homeowners took pictures of property water damage to a meeting of the Commissioners, but the Commissioners accepted HREG’s plan anyway. On Apr. 14, 2008, the Commissioners gave conditional approval for The Crossings.
In return for the Commissioner’s approval, HREG pledged to construct an entirely new interchange at Rt. 30 and Harrisburg Pike to handle the traffic that The Crossings was expected to generate. This traffic is estimated at 13,754 vehicular trips each weekday and 18,028 on Saturdays. Ben Bamford, senior development manager for HREG, was reported in Lancaster Newspapers (Aug. 15, 2008) as saying that he is optimistic that public money would eventually be committed for the improvements.
An application has been sent by the county to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, through its TIGER II Discretionary Grant Program, to help pay for the rebuilding of the interchange. The amount being asked for the reconstruction of the Rt. 30/Harrisburg Pike interchange is $17,878,000.
This interchange, along with its ramps, was rebuilt only 9 years ago and paid for with more than $45 million state taxpayer dollars. It is structurally sound and can handle the amount of traffic that it has now. To rebuild it this soon is a waste of taxpayer money. This money should, instead, be allocated to the many county roads and bridges that are in need of repairs.
Is “The Crossings” project still alive? The request for taxpayer dollars to rebuild the US30 – Harrisburg Pike interchange has been rejected TWICE, and High has a long record of demanding substantial taxpayer subsidies before proceeding with certain projects.
High’s new shopping center on Lincoln Highway East is under construction, and already stealing tenants from other existing shopping centers. Meanwhile, retail sales nationwide are in the doldrums, and are likely to remain that way for a long time.
This would be a great time for High to quietly back away from “The Crossings” and let it drop.
High Real Estate Group has no plans to “back away” from this project.
Last month, the Harrisburg Pike Transportation Coordinating Committee applied for a federal grant in a new economic incentive program called TIGER II. In addition to the request for funds for the Rt. 30/Harrisburg Pike interchange, there is also a request for money to be used to widen a four-tenths mile stretch of Harrisburg Pike, running in both directions from The Crossings. As soon as HREG gets this money, the bulldozers can start to roll.
If you don’t want this to happen, you need to immediately contact Ray LaHood, Secretary, U. S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington D.C. 20590. Tell him you don’t want public money to be used for private benefit.