State College Planning Commission on Thursday reviewed revised plans for a long-in-the-works apartment complex proposed for South Atherton Street.
The project at 734 S. Atherton St. has been acquired by new owners, and while the plans for the four-story building remain largely the same, there have been some changes since the previous plan was recommended for approval in April 2022. The prior plan also resulted from the settlement of a court case after the borough and developer disagreed on the interpretation of the maximum number of residential units permitted under the zoning code, and the new plan will have to go to a Centre County judge for approval.
Plans for the property on the site of the former bank building and Keller Williams Realty office (once Hollywood Video) on South Atherton Street and USA Vein Clinic on Logan Avenue include 126 and a total of 195 bedrooms, with a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging from 700 to 900 square feet — all unchanged from the original plan. The first floor also will have commercial space tentatively expected to be self-storage, said Jacob Unzicker, of project architect Mode 3.
The apartments will be furnished and rented by the bedroom, so while they will be available to anyone, it is expected they will have mostly student tenants, said Tony Fruchtl, of project engineer PennTerra
The most substantial changes involve parking and access. While former design had 209 parking spaces on two levels of underground parking, the updated plan puts the spaces in one level. Six surface level spaces also will be located on the northwest side of the building for pickup, drop-off and deliveries, Fruchtl said.
Previous plans had access from both Logan Avenue and the shared driveway off of South Atherton Street on the west side of the property. Now, access to the parking garage will only be from Logan Avenue, with access to the pickup and drop-off spaces from the shared driveway.
A traffic impact study currently under review recommends making Logan Avenue right-in, right-out only at Atherton Street, constructing a southbound CATA bus stop in front of the building and installing a pedestrian island on Atherton Street.
“This would give pedestrians a refuge crossing the street there, and it also tends to slow folks down as they would be coming through there,” Fruchtl said.
The building, which will have a 53,000-square-foot footprint, is “designed with the health and wellness of the residents in mind, providing both indoor and outdoor areas for active recreation and interaction,” Unzicker said. That includes a large, exterior first-level courtyard with a variety of surfaces, shade structures, seating and grills.
It will also feature a fitness center and other amenities and common spaces for tenant activity.
Plans include a mail room, package room, indoor storage for 35 bicycles, an outdoor rack for 16 bikes and electric vehicle charging.
Materials for the building’s exterior will include brick and rough cut stone veneer, cast stone for accents, fiber cement panel siding and trim, concrete with painted finish at the parking entry, and black aluminum coping.
The building will have Infrastructure for future solar panel installation, individual split system HVAC units and LED lighting among its sustainability features, Unzicker said.
The developer — Illinois-based Next Chapter Properties — will pay a fee in lieu of providing inclusionary housing units on site.
Pending approvals and permitting, construction is expected to begin in September or October, with occupancy in August 2027.
Before being sold to Next Chapter Properties, the project was previously under development by South Atherton Development LLC, led by Bob Poole and Chris Wunz, of State College, and Jeff Quinn and Phil Clark, of Newtown, Connecticut.
