Street, Lane Closures Planned for Crane Placement at Downtown State College Construction Site

Work on a downtown State College high-rise will result in the full closure of one street and a single lane on another next week.

Sowers Street between East College Avenue and East Calder Way will be fully closed and one lane of East College Avenue between Sowers Street and Hetzel Street will be closed daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Monday, July 20, to Friday, July 24. The closures are needed for placement of a tower crane at the construction site for The Mark, 444 E. College Ave.

The closures were originally planned for the week of Aug. 11, but were rescheduled and approved by State College Borough Council on July 6.

Flaggers will be on hand to assist with traffic control while trucks are back into Sowers Street from East College Avenue, according to a memo included in the Borough Council meeting agenda.

Closures for demobilization of the tower crane will be presented to council for approval more definitive dates are finalized, according to the memo.

Developer Landmark Properties is constructing the planned 155-foot The Mark at the corner of East College Avenue and Sowers Street. The project was approved in the spring of 2025 and construction began in November.

Plans for the mixed-use high-rise include commercial space on the first two floors and 159 residential units geared toward college students on floors three through 11. The apartments will range from studios to five-bedrooms, for a total of 515 beds.

The second floor will have an open-air courtyard, club room, fitness facility and study spaces, and the 12th floor will feature a rooftop deck with a pool and another club room, according to a presentation to the State College Planning Commission in March 2025.

Three levels of underground parking, accessible from Calder Way, will have about 300 vehicle spaces, including eight ADA stalls and four electric vehicle charging stations.

The project involved the demolition of The Armenara Building on Sowers, the Keystone Building on East College and McDonald’s on the corner. McDonald’s initially planned to return in the new building, but that is no longer the case, Landmark representatives said in 2025.

Construction is expected to be completed by August 2028.