Summer construction season is in full swing at Penn State, and demolition work is underway for two core campus buildings at University Park.
Work recently began on a full teardown of the 52-year-old Oswald Tower, while Sackett Building is undergoing a partial demolition for a major renovation project.
Upon completion of the Oswald Tower demolition, the university plans to convert the building footprint into green space with a lawn, benches and walkways between the more historic Pond Lab and Burrowes Building. A university spokesperson said measures have been taken “to protect the nearby mature trees, including the large pecan, hawthorn, and red oak, as well as a heritage grove to the building’s northside.”
Oswald Tower had been home to the sociology and criminology department, Population Research Institute and Criminal Justice Research Center. Each of those joined a host of other programs in moving to the new Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building that opened at the start of this year near Fischer Road on the northwest end of campus, clearing the way for the Oswald demolition.
Constructed in 1973 and named for Penn State’s 13th president, John W. Oswald, the tower was in poor condition and carried a $14.9 million maintenance backlog, a university official said in 2022. According to construction bid documents, the brick facade was disintegrating and crumbling to the ground. The HVAC and mechanical systems were “antiquated and beyond repair,” with some having been installed as part of the concrete internal construction. The single pane windows needed to be replaced and all of the hardware was broken or failing.
The tower was also “inefficiently designed,” and only 44% of the its space was assignable, according to the university.
“This building was not constructed for longevity nor is it of any historic or architectural value,” according to the bid document, which added that the cost to bring it up to modern codes and satisfy program needs would be prohibitive.
Demolition of Oswald Tower was included in the $127 million budget for the Welch Building, and low bids for abatement, demolition and earthwork totaled about $2.1 million, according to Office of the Physical Plant bid documents.
SACKETT BUILDING
The south wing of the Sackett Building, located on the Allen Mall just up from College Avenue, is currently being demolished as part of an $89.9 million renovation project in the College of Engineering’s Facilities Master Plan.
The area undergoing demolition is one of the 1957 additions to the 95-year-old building that will be replaced new north and south wings. According to the university, those new wings will complement the historic original building and will be more in line with the scale and aesthetic of original architect Charles Klauder’s Georgian Revival concept design.
A new roof, which will be part of opening the partial-story fourth floor to a full story, will also be in the spirit of Klauder’s original design.
While the exterior of the original four-story building will be restored through repointing, cleaning and new roofing, the interior will be gutted and fully renovated.
When completed, the renovated Sackett will be a 78,700-square-foot-building with 12 general purpose classrooms of 40 to 120 seats, a knowledge commons, graduate student space, the Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education and administrative offices.
Work is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027
Engineering Units A, B and C were demolished earlier this year as part of the overall project, and Kunkle Lounge will also be demolished. Hammond Building along West College Avenue is scheduled to be demolished in 2028.
While the the College of Engineering master plan calls for two new engineering buildings to eventually be constructed where Hammond and the Engineering Units are currently located, the open areas will be fully landscaped in the interim as a public lawn with informal seating. A project architect in 2023 described it as “a temporary landscape that is not so temporary.”
