3-day closure coming to Beaver Avenue as State College’s new high-rise takes shape
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- West Beaver Avenue will close June 8–10 for tower crane staging at 321 W. Beaver Ave.
- A three-mile detour will route traffic via Atherton Street, Park Avenue and University.
- Crane installation begins vertical construction on the nine-story Nittany Residences Club.
A section of Beaver Avenue in downtown State College will be closed for three days next week with a detour in place as construction of a new high-rise condominium hotel enters its next phase.
Starting Monday, June 8, through Wednesday, June 10, West Beaver Avenue will be closed between Atherton Street and Burrowes Street, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said. The closure will allow for the staging of a tower crane on the roadway for construction of the nine-story Nittany Residences Club located at 321 W. Beaver Ave., the site of the former Biolife building.
A three-mile detour will reroute traffic around the closure using Atherton Street, Park Avenue and University Drive, before returning drivers to Beaver Avenue at the University Drive on-ramp, PennDOT wrote in a press release.
Changeable message signs have already been in place and coordination with PennDOT’s Traffic Management Center will also provide information to GPS navigation providers regarding the closure, said Elton Hayes, the community engagement manager for the Borough of State College.
Additionally, with limited access to Cresson Alley from Beaver Avenue, and ongoing construction on Calder Way, project contractor Leonard S. Fiore Inc. will station flaggers 24 hours a day and use light plants overnight to maintain two-way access to New Alley as needed during the closure, Hayes said.
The borough council approved the road closure during a May meeting, but council president Evan Myers expressed concerns over backups in traffic that could cause drivers familiar with the area to take side streets within neighborhoods instead of the detour, as he has observed in the past.
“I think we need to be prepared to help direct people because, as I reported to you when this happened a year or so ago, there were people driving all over the place, and some of them were driving at excessive speeds in neighborhoods where there are little kids around,” Myers said during the meeting.
Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said using the roadway is the only feasible option to erect the crane and the detour has been used for similar work in the past.
“There’s not sufficient room in the right of way in the alleys,” he said during the meeting. “Consistently over the past 10 years, as projects have been built, it’s been a two-lane closure for those crane installations and they typically are closed for three days.”
The sidewalk across from the construction site will remain open during the closure, a developer said during the meeting. After the crane is installed, the existing long-term lane shift on West Beaver Avenue will resume and remain in place through September.
The council also approved road closures for a three-day period from June 21-23, 2027, to dismantle the crane. Developers said these dates are weather dependent and subject to construction progress.
Drivers can find more information and updates on State College construction projects by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional X alerts.
Construction project updates
The Nittany Residence Club broke ground last year and is set to reach a major milestone with the installation of the crane on Monday, marking the start of vertical construction and phase two of the project, Erica Scott realtor at Kissinger Bigatel and Brower Realtors, said.
“This is where the community is actually going to really see the building rise above the ground and really take shape,” Scott said, and added that much of the work completed to date has been below grade and behind the scenes.
Construction of the basement and first floor structures is expected to be complete in the next two months, Scott said. After that, progress is anticipated to advance at a pace of one floor every three weeks, reaching completion of the nine-story building by the end of 2027.
The Nittany Residence Club construction is a luxury hybrid condominium-hotel where people can own a unit near Penn State’s campus and rent it out like a hotel room when they aren’t using it. The building will include 70 one-to-three bedroom units and amenities like a private fitness center, covered parking, and a lobby coffee shop.
The units were listed at as much as $2.2 million, with some already under agreement before construction even started last summer.
Scott said the majority of buyers are Penn State alumni and university-affiliated families seeking a place to stay during football weekends and other visits. The hotel program will be managed by Scholar Hotels when owners are not occupying them.
“Our momentum and sales have remained strong,” she said. “More than 40% of the residences are already accounted for, that’s a strong buyer confidence in this project. So we’re thrilled with that as well.”
