Developer agrees to buy, redevelop vacant Gettysburg parcel

The developer, Timothy C. Harrison of Staten Island, said in a press release that he expects to meet with Gettysburg borough officials as soon as possible to begin determining what residents and officials hope to see on the tract.

The nearly two-acre property is located at 108 North Stratton St. in Gettsyburg and has been owned by the Adams County Industrial Development Authority, or ACIDA.

Details of the agreement were not available. 

The community has requested that the property be redeveloped for mixed uses, and Harrison is expected to deliver a sketch plan soon, said Robin Fitzpatrick, the ACIDA president. 

“It is my hope that discussions between the ACIDA, the commissioners, Gettysburg Area School District’s Board of Education and borough officials will be fruitful, clearly identifying incentives so that Mr. Harrison can deliver a positive, transformative project that will impact both the borough and county for years to come,” she said.

Named for its proximity to the Gettysburg Transit Center, Lincoln Railroad Station and CSX railroad line, the Gettysburg Station property once housed an antique mall as well as various social services, including a state-run job center, Fitzpatrick said. The site has also previously been home to a manufacturing plant and an auto sales and repair shop.

When the commonwealth started to consolidate its various job centers into what is now known as Pennsylvania CareerLink in the early 2000s, Fitzgerald said, a number of other businesses began leaving the area. In 2014, the property’s buildings, which had started to deteriorate, were demolished. Though the lot is currently vacant, it’s zoned for residential office redevelopment.  

“Certainly, the development of this parcel, which has been dormant for years, has the ability to transform and uplift an entire corridor of the community on many levels — economically as well as aesthetically,” Fitzpatrick said.

The ACIDA purchased the property in 2013 with the goal of creating a project on the site that would positively impact surrounding neighborhoods and commercial zones, said Jim Williams, chairman of the ACIDA, which is one of three nonprofit organizations managed collectively as Adams Economic Alliance.

The ACIDA has received a number of offers from prospective developers. But after multiple tours, Fitzpatrick said Harrison was deemed the best fit.

“Because the offers weren’t what the community wanted, we held off,” Fitzgerald said.