What’s next for the former Centre Crest building in Bellefonte? Here’s an early look at plans
An early look at renderings from an adaptive reuse study of the former Centre Crest building shows the Bellefonte Senior Center and some county agencies could have a new home in the facility.
The Centre County board of commissioners previously selected MG Architects to conduct an adaptive reuse study of the former Centre Crest facility to determine what to do with the building, after taking ownership of it in April when residents of the long-term care home moved into a new location.
During a work session Tuesday, commissioners viewed the renderings for the first time and discussed the future of the facility.
There was a heavy focus on human services in the building, John Franek Jr., deputy county administrator, said during the work session. Surveys were sent out and directors were interviewed to outline how their current space is being used and what their future needs look like.
The building has 118,569 square feet of usable space, Franek said. Most of the space would be used for departments, amenities and shared spaces.
The building structure is in “excellent” shape, Franek said. While the interior is “dated,” from an aesthetic standpoint, the building is very solid, he said. There will need to be electrical and mechanical work done.
The preliminary renderings show spaces for facilities, coroner storage, elections storage, and other storage and shared spaces on the ground floor. If kept, that floor could be for employees only, as the public likely wouldn’t need to access those services.
The first floor has agencies that the public would likely access, including aging, adult services, veteran’s affairs, elections, mental health/intellectual disabilities/early intervention, and drug and alcohol. There is space for shared conference rooms, open offices and a kitchen.
The first floor rendering also includes space for the Bellefonte Senior Center, which is currently located on North Spring Street. The space that the senior center would move into already exists in the building, but would include heavier interior renovations, Commissioner Michael Pipe said. There have been parking challenges at the senior center’s current space in downtown Bellefonte, Pipe said, and this would offer a remedy and give the center a space of its own. There are opportunities for grants through the state’s Department of Aging that could be applied for and used for renovation costs, he said.
The second floor rendering has children and youth services, mental health/intellectual disabilities/early intervention, facilities and more office spaces.
The move would give these agencies more space than what currently exists. While reviewing the plans, Commissioner Steve Dershem wondered aloud if some agencies that continue to expand, like children and youth services, should have more space allotted.
“I think that’s what we need to be thinking about, is growth potential,” Dershem said.
With the renderings, CYS would go from having 6,768 square feet to about 9,000 square feet. The renderings do include “leasable space,” which could be used for a nonprofit-type entity, Franek said, or the county could eventually grow into the space.
Though the coroner currently has morgue space, Franek said during the interview process, he stated other counties have a morgue facility that can assist with certain situations.
Commissioners gave Franek their questions and suggestions — like putting the public-facing entities on the first and second floors, what spaces they could grow into, if there’s a possibility of having more storage space to cut down on fees elsewhere and downsizing some of the rendered department spaces — to bring back to the architects.
It’s too early to have a definite timeline or estimated project cost, Pipe said, and American Rescue Plans will likely be used for the project.
“This is over 100,000 square foot of space ... that we’re determining how to utilize, talking about bringing in offices that have dozens of employees, shifting them around, so I think we just want to take our time and be mindful. But this discussion today really gives great feedback for us to be able to start having more conversations,” Pipe said.
If American Rescue Plan funds are used, it will need to be determined by 2024.
Commissioners plan to have another work session with the architects in the coming weeks.
