A downtown State College street will be limited to one lane for 2 years during high-rise construction
After rejecting an earlier request to completely close a downtown street for two years, State College’s borough council unanimously approved a revised request Monday that would instead shut down only one lane of Hetzel Street during construction of a 12-story high rise.
Chicago-based developer Core Spaces, which plans to build a luxury apartment building in the 400 block of East College Avenue, will close the southbound lane of Hetzel Street — between Calder Way and East College Avenue — during construction from Dec. 6, 2021, through Dec. 12, 2023. The sidewalk along the west side of Hetzel Street will also be closed during that time, in addition to during the demolition phase from Sept. 30 until Dec. 3 of this year.
Core Spaces will have the ability to close both lanes of the street down “periodically,” borough manager Tom Fountaine said, such as during the installation of cranes. Fountaine said it’s common to give that ability to developers, noting that closures of a week or longer would need formal approval.
“They’re not closed for long periods of time and for maybe a day or a couple of days here and there along the construction,” Fountaine said during Monday’s meeting, adding that borough staff will monitor such closures. “We’ve not had issues with those construction closures, I think in the past, when the streets are not completely closed.”
In return for taking up a lane of traffic and the sidewalk — which the borough valued at $300,000 — Core Spaces will consider a number of improvements around there, including resurfacing Calder Way and Hetzel Street, conduit and pole boxes for future fiber optics, rooftop occupancy for communications facilities owned by the borough, light poles, accessible ramps, etc. Considerations were also included in last month’s rejected proposal but had not been announced at that respective council meeting.
Core Spaces’ initial request, which would’ve closed both lanes of Hetzel Street, was formally rejected by a 4-2 council vote July 12. Mayor Ron Filippelli chided both the developer and contractor after being told it would be possible to keep one lane open — but it’d cost the developer more.
“I’m glad that you’ve indicated the building can be built without closing the street,” Filippelli said last month. “My guess is — I can’t speak for all of the citizens of State College, but I bet I can speak for most of the citizens of the East Highlands — they would like the building built that way.”
Two residents spoke at Monday’s council meeting on the revised request, one in favor and one who seemed opposed. Pizza Mia owner John Jennings praised the developer, saying Core Spaces was “absolutely gracious” in their dealings and will allow the business to operate a food truck on Hetzel Street during construction.
Next month’s demolition will displace several longtime businesses, most of which have already closed, including George’s Floral Boutique, Eddie’s Bicycles and Hockey Equipment, and Pizza Mia’s State College location. A covered lit walkway will also be maintained during construction along part of East College Avenue, adjacent to the worksite.
Core Spaces submitted its land-development plan in November 2019. In that plan, the apartment building would consist of two floors of commercial space and 135 residential units with a mixture of one, two, four and five bedrooms.
The housing is geared toward Penn State students, although Core Spaces believes the building would also appeal to professionals. Leases will be offered by the bed, and not the unit.
