Construction crews are renovating a former fraternity at 406 S. Pugh St. in State College to house Centre Helps, a nonprofit that provides resources and education to people in mental health crisis, and four new affordable housing apartments run by the borough.
State College Planning Director Ed LeClear says this unusual project started with the fraternity’s alumni association, which reached out to the borough about buying the home.
“They definitely had an inclination to say, 'We don’t want to sell this to a private property owner who’s just going to turn it into another fraternity.'" LeClear said. "They wanted to do something that was more community supporting.”
The Borough’s Redevelopment Authority bought the fraternity, and started construction in October.
Adrienne Ott is a senior planner and pproject manager with the State College borough. She says the need for affordable housing has skyrocketed in State College.
“Historically the data shows that specifically in the Centre County area, and also being close to Penn State, there is a large affordable housing need for both families and students." Ott said. "So we were really happy to be able to offer this opportunity to help serve that need as well.”
The apartments will be on the third floor of the home, while Centre Helps will occupy the first and second floors. Denise McCann is the executive director of Centre Helps. She says the nonprofit plans to expand their 24/7 suicide hotline program.
“My hope is that it will be a warm and welcoming place both for our staff and for our clients, some of the most vulnerable members in the community that walk through those doors and that it will be a space that the larger community can benefit from as well,” McCann said.
Centre Helps plans to move into the building in March while construction continues on the affordable housing portion of the home.