Plans submitted for new hotel on former Autoport property in State College
After sitting empty for almost four years, part of the former Autoport motel and restaurant property could get some new life.
A land development plan for a Home 2 Suites by Hilton that includes a 122-bedroom extended-stay hotel and eight apartment units was submitted to the State College borough Jan. 17, according to planning documents. Plans show apartments interspersed throughout the proposed four-story mixed-use building, which also features a fitness room.
The project proposes demolition of three buildings on the former Autoport property — two small commercial buildings and one former hotel building — and construction of the new mixed-use building, between the Talbots store and the Autoport restaurant and lounge.
The former Autoport restaurant and lounge building located at 1405 S. Atherton St. is not slated for demolition or development.
South Atherton Real Estate I LP is listed as the owner and Raleigh, North Carolina-based Concord Hospitality is listed as the developer of the new building, which will be located at 1401 S. Atherton St. on 2.64 acres to the left of the former Autoport site.
South Atherton Real Estate bought both the motel and restaurant, located at 1405 S. Atherton St. in State College, for $2.1 million from Greg and Lynda Mussi in May 2016. The couple had been facing foreclosure since 2014, the CDT previously reported.
Gregory Welteroth, Jr., who is a general partner of South Atherton Real Estate, did not return a request for comment. A representative from Concord Hospitality did not return a request either.
The Autoport, known as Pennsylvania’s oldest motel, was featured along with the lounge and restaurant in October 2014 on an episode of “Hotel Impossible” on the Travel Channel.
The State College Design Review board will review the land development plan at its Feb. 18 meeting, and the Planning Commission will review the plan at its 7 p.m. Feb. 20 meeting.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 12:38 PM.
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