High Employee Services Ltd. relocates York office

High Employee Services Ltd. relocated its York office into the city's former train station May 1, doubling its space.

High Employee President Randy Wirth said the York office moved from 900 square feet at 1625 E. Market St., which was outside the city, to 53 E. North St. The new office is 1,800

High's York office has four employees, and plans to hire a fifth.

According to the Business Journal's Top List of temporary employment & staffing services, High Employee Services is the fifth-largest Central Pennsylvania firm in total hours billed in 1999. According to that list, High has 21 employees and four Central Pennsylvania locations. Among the services it provides is human resource consulting and training placement, with a majority of its placements in industrial settings.

Among High's former East Market Street neighbors were staffing services including Adecco Inc., Express Personnel Services, Employment East Temps and Norrell Staffing Services. Wirth said High moved because it did not have enough room in its Market Street location.

The computers and fax machines will be moved by the employees, and the office furniture will be donated to nonprofit organizations.

Eric Menzer, York's director of economic development, said businesses such as temporary employment companies are good for York's downtown.

"You not only have people working in the office day in and day out, but they're bringing people in," he said.

The East North Street location is also next to a bus stop, Wirth said.

High Employee signed a five-year lease, according to Frank H. Countess, a shareholder with York law firm Countess Gilbert Andrews. For the past year, Countess has co-owned the former train station with another Countess Gilbert shareholder, Joseph P. Clark H.

With the addition of High, the train station is fully leased, Countess said. It joins some long-term tenants: Capitol Trailways' Greyhound bus terminal, which is in the first year of a 20-year lease, and Life Touch Photography Studios, formerly known as Henry M. Blatner Photographers Inc..

The train station was built in 1890 and converted to office space about 20 years ago, with a few other renovations since then. At the west end of North Street is the property that York would like to use for a minor-league stadium. A year and a half ago, the Barry Group advertising firm renovated and moved into the Conrail building near the station.