#hbgmag Influencer
It Takes a Village: The Man behind Harrisburg’s Upcoming EcoVillage, The Bridge.
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Story & Photos by Paul Hood
laced within the side of a grassy hill overlooking Market Street, it has sat empty for years all while remaining majestic, yet imposing and grand in scale. Its two noticeable towers - one near the western end of the city and the other near the eastern end - scrape the sky and appear weather beaten as the elements have gracefully aged its brick facade. It is the former home of Bishop McDevitt High School, which during its 70-year tenure at Market Street, was - and still is, respectfully Harrisburg’s most well-known private Catholic school. Founded in 1918, Bishop McDevitt (renamed in 1957 after Reverend Phillip R. McDevitt) established itself as a reputable educational institution noted mostly by locals for churning out spectacular student athletes turned NFL stars, such as natives Ricky Waters and LeSean “Shady” McCoy. Fast forward almost a decade later, and yet another ex-NFL player, Garry Gilliam, who splits his time between Seattle and Camp Hill and is Harrisburg Magazine’s “Influencer’’ for the month of August, is on track to revive old Bishop McDevitt School into a self-sustainable eco-village known as The Bridge. But brass tacks first: Gilliam, Founder and CEO of The Bridge, is listed at 6’6” and approximately 300 lbs. and fresh off stints with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco Forty Niners. A once undrafted rookie who spent his college career at Penn State as a triple major in business, advertising and psychology, Gilliam has a vision to match his physical size. A certified juggernaut of ideas and moxy, Gilliam is full speed ahead with reshaping Harrisburg’s stagnancy regarding urban redevelopment and repurposing of iconic structures. With major plans already taking the field, The Bridge is set to become Harrisburg’s first of a kind community complete with entertainment, housing, and
18 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE AUGUST 2022
