The State College Planning Commission heard a presentation Wednesday for a new 95-foot hotel-condominium building on the corner of Beaver Avenue and South Atherton Street.
The preliminary presentation by development firm PVE, LLC. proposed a “luxury” high-rise with 64 units available for purchase. These units would be used as hotel rooms while the owners are away.
State College borough Planning Director Ed LeClear said a final presentation is still months away, but the borough has sought more hotel space for years.
“I thought it was well received by the planning commission, and I think they did a good job presenting the information,” he said. "[I] look forward to the final plan.”
The nine-story structure would replace the current BioLife Plasma Services building and include commercial spaces on its ground floor.
Although several first-floor commercial spaces have remained vacant in State College, presenter James Venture said the company could sign tenants “virtually for free” to use “as an amenity” to the building.
Venture said PVE would likely line up tenants before the project is completed, mentioning coffee shops and microbreweries as examples.
“We want to be able to provide on those first-floor retail [spaces] sort of high-class amenities to our guests,” he said.
The presenters said the building would include 78 parking spaces at ground level and below ground, and its construction would cause minimal disruptions to traffic at the busy intersection, opting to close Cresson Alley instead.
“Everything we’ve heard from them is that you wouldn't have any long-term closures, probably a temporary one while they’re putting the crane up,” LeClear said.
