PATTON TOWNSHIP — It stands, a relic, as the traffic buzzes around it.

Every day, cars zip up and down North Atherton Street, the busiest road in Centre County, ferrying commuters between Penn State, downtown State College and the growing residential neighborhoods of Park Forest and Grays Woods. Population studies show this area to be among the fastest-growing in the Centre Region.

Though its grass is mowed regularly, and its red bricks still give the building a friendly look from the outside, the former A&P supermarket at 1910 N. Atherton St. sits vacant, as it mostly has for the past 15 or so years.

“It’s a great piece of real estate and it deserves to be developed,” said Perry Russ, an executive vice president at Zamias, a Johnstown-based real estate firm with significant dealings in the Centre Region.

In 2006, Russ thought he had a deal that would have put in a shopping center and Chick-fil-A on the 1.38-acre property.

“Chick-fil-A fell in love with that spot. For them to take so much interest in an isolated market, where their next closest restaurant was in Harrisburg, is a statement in itself about the strength of the North Atherton corridor marketplace,” Russ said.

But the deal fell apart when the management firm representing the property’s owner, Donald Zucker, made what Russ called “unrealistic” demands.

“It was frustrating to say the least, because I did have it fully committed,” he said. “I worked on it for a year, and all I have to show for it is a file the size of a New York City phone book.”

Russ accused the management group of not caring whether the property is sold or leased.

“It was extremely hard to get a meeting with them,” he said. “(Zucker) is extremely well-capitalized. I’m under the impression he is a multibillionaire — that’s billion with a ‘b.’ I just don’t think there’s a very big focus on their part to develop that parcel.”

Zucker, according to the New York Daily News, has built thousands of apartments in New York

City in the past 40 years. Manhattan Skyline Management, which manages Zucker’s properties, lists 14 apartment buildings, with four more under development.

Zucker purchased his sole Centre County property in 1968 as part of a larger deal to buy a group of old A&P stores, according to Robert Esnard, the president of Manhattan Skyline Management.

“(Zucker) primarily owns, manages and builds properties in New York City, but depending on his investments and opportunities, buys properties in the Northeast and Midwest and other places,” Esnard said.

The North Atherton property has a lawn sign in front listing it for sale or lease, and Esnard said his company responds to every inquiry. While Esnard acknowledged the building “has been vacant for a bit of time,” he cited its lease to Penn State in 1999 and 2000 for use in storing books during the renovation of a campus library as evidence the company is willing to lease when the deal is right.

Russ isn’t the only real estate developer who has been stymied in attempts to work a deal out for the property.

“Everyone’s had a crack at it,” Russ said.

Tom Kennington, of Keystone Real Estate Group, said he had deals involving retail clients looking to lease the property rejected by Zucker in 2000, 2001, 2002 and, most recently, 2007. Kennington declined to go into the details of the deals.

Don Boller, the owner of the Dairy Queen at 310 W. Aaron Drive, was looking for a new spot for his restaurant in 2006, and was included in Russ’ deal.

“We were going to tear the building down — there were seven contracts all signed, including one for a Men’s Wearhouse,” Boller said. “They told us they wanted every leasee to be a publicly traded company, and when we told them that wasn’t possible, they said, ‘Well, we don’t want you then.’ ”

At the time, Boller told the Centre Daily Times, “Finding a site on North Atherton is hard.” He agrees with that sentiment today.

“Now that building is kind of in ruins. Kids got in the back door and the inside is all destroyed,” he said. “It’s such a prime spot they own. It’s a shame to have it just sit wasted there for so long.”

Esnard said his company operates by a “general rule” to be cautious in who it leases to.

“We don’t want to wind up with a problem tenant and a building that’s been altered and half completed, and then the business fails 30 days into a lease term,” Esnard said. “It’s not that we want something publicly traded, as much as we want something with enough strength in business so it would last and we could have a long-term relationship, and being well-capitalized is part of that.”

Tax records show the North Atherton property was last assessed in 1994 at $3.23 million. The adjoining parking lot, also owned by Zucker, was assessed at $123,000. Chief Assessor Mark Kellerman said no changes have been made to the property since its last assessment, and the owner has never appealed its value.

“It’s uncommon to see a property go so long without an assessment,” he said. “Most commercial properties in the county have had their values assessed more recently.”

The most recent annual tax bill for the building and parking lot came to about $50,000. Patton Township Manager Doug Erickson said Zucker pays his bill on time every year. Erickson said the property is assessed at a comparable rate to other properties in that area and that its tax rate would likely not be raised significantly if it were developed.

“It doesn’t seem to have had a negative effect on the corridor,” he said.

Russ said Zucker has offered to sell the land outright for $4.2 million, a claim Esnard did not deny.

“The number is flexible,” Esnard said, adding that the company would only sell the property straight out, with no conditions.

Russ said Zucker’s asking price is “not reasonable.”

Recent property sales give a varied picture of real estate prices in the North Atherton corridor.

The 2.02-acre property at 1715 N. Atherton St., housing Aspen Dental, was sold in 2006 for $1 million. The new Red Line Speed Shine parcel, totaling 0.8 acres, was sold in 2009 for $1.68 million.

The $4.2 million Zucker is reportedly asking for is “a good place to start negotiations,” said Joe Davidson, the county’s recorder of deeds.

“It seems little high to me as far as values on North Atherton, but I’m not a certified appraiser,” he said.

While 1910 N. Atherton St. has sat empty, Chick-fil-A finally found its much-desired entree into the corridor, opening next door at 1938 N. Atherton St. on Oct. 28, 2010.

Frontage on North Atherton was of the highest priority because of its traffic count and growth trend, franchise owner Bruce Herold said.

“We used to want to follow the big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s, but that dynamic has changed,” he said. “Our location is about being in and a part of the community.”

The failure to develop the 1910 N. Atherton St. parcel is stunting economic growth in the area, Herold said.

“I’d love to see that property developed. Any property developed around us is going to bring more traffic, and the more a critical mass of businesses are created in this particular area, the more folks that come to check it out,” he said.

On top of economic issues, Herold said, the building is verging on becoming an eyesore.

“I don’t feel like it’s well-kept. I get particularly frustrated in winter with keeping the walk clean. I wouldn’t call it decrepit, but I’m amazed there aren’t more problems with it, just because it’s been vacant for so long,” Herold said. “It’s not by chance we put that big fence up next to us.”

Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928.