New buildings, parking deck and more: How Penn State plans to ‘revitalize’ West Campus
Penn State shed more light at last week’s State College Borough Council meeting on its nearly $1 billion College of Engineering Master Plan, some of which hinges on the construction of a controversial $60.57 million, six-level parking garage proposed for the university’s West Campus.
The COE Master Plan, which Penn State contracted architectural firm Payette to design in 2018, aims for an “actionable strategy” that will carry the college through two five-year funding cycles ending in 2028, said University Planner Neil Sullivan.
That includes redeveloping both West Campus and the portion of Core Campus where the Hammond and Sackett buildings are located by adding new buildings and replacing older ones.
Penn State’s main goals for the design are to “revitalize” West Campus through landscaping and public space, support the College of Engineering’s space and and programmatic needs for its projected growth and improve “connectivity” between West Campus and Core Campus, Sullivan told members of borough council last week.
Though the design and construction phase of the master plan is just starting, a Penn State spokesperson said the concept for a parking deck on West Campus has existed for 20 years. A third iteration of Penn State’s Traffic Impact Study for the 1,670-spot parking deck is currently under review by PennDOT, and includes one entry/exit point at Atherton Street and White Course Drive that was preferred by the borough, but with which neighborhood residents still have concerns.
Sullivan told borough council members that the current parking deck plan has been designed for potential secondary access at West College Avenue and Buckhout Street “at some point in the future,” an option neighborhood residents have roundly opposed.
For Phase 1, which covers the 2018-2023 planning cycle with a budget of $370 million, Penn State plans to construct buildings West 1 and West 2 on West Campus, shift operations from the Hammond and Sackett buildings to West Campus, demolish the Hammond Building and engineering units and and start renovating the Sackett Building while adding a north wing.
West 2 will share a wall with the proposed West Campus Parking Deck, which will sit on the site of Red Lot A and consolidate parking around campus. West 1 — and later, West 3 — will be constructed along White Course Drive. West 2, Electrical Engineering Sciences, Leonhard and Academic Support buildings will frame the Engineering Quad, which Penn State will redesign, said Sullivan.
Additionally, Penn State plans to construct a West Plaza surrounded by West 1, West 3, the EES Building and the Westgate Building. The Engineering Quad will flow into West Plaza to to help shape pedestrian traffic.
“We also wanted to take into consideration pedestrian flows so that pedestrians and bikes can go from the golf course area, the bike trails, and they will be steered over toward the Westgate Building,” said Sullivan. “We do understand that there is a pedestrian crosswalk at Atherton (Street); however, we really want to encourage all the pedestrians to use Westgate Building for their safety.”
Councilman Jesse Barlow asked Sullivan if Penn State was in talks with PennDOT to implement signals for more pedestrian-friendly crossing at Curtin Road and Atherton Street, and Sullivan said there hadn’t been discussion but they could consider it.
Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said the borough is currently working with PennDOT on an “all-pedestrian phase” at Curtin Road, though it is not approved yet and still under study.
For the Core Campus portion of the project, buildings Core 1 and Core 2 will replace Hammond Building, the engineering units behind Hammond will be demolished and Sackett Building will be renovated, with a north and south wing added to it. In order to promote more connection with downtown State College, Core 1 and Core 2, to be located along College Avenue, will bookend an engineering plaza where the units previously were, Sullivan said.
“The idea is that you’ll be able to connect downtown State College once you’ve crossed the street up into the Alumni Garden,” he said.
Penn State also plans to contribute to “the vibrancy of downtown” by designing the ground levels of Core 1 and Core 2 with open, glass fronts and multiple entrances. Core 1 will likely be around three stories tall in the front, with a back wing of about six stories. The university will also “be doing our best” to protect big trees along College Avenue during construction, Sullivan said.
Phase 2 of the project, which will take place from 2023-2028 and with a proposed budget of $479 million, includes the construction of West 3 on West Campus and Core 1 and Core 2 on the Core Campus, with the addition of the Sackett South wing, Sullivan said.
West 1 and 2 will house the Civil Engineering, Architectural Engineering, School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs and Aerospace Engineering departments, while West 3 is planned for those departments’ future growth, according to the plans. West 1 will include a student hub with food services, student social areas and classrooms attached to the main building facing the West Plaza.
In response to questions from community members about light pollution and safety at night, Sullivan said the university is considering cutoff lighting fixtures that will be “sky-friendly” to promote both safety for pedestrians and not contribute to light pollution.
Plans for the Hallowell Building, located on West Campus and currently occupied by the Biomedical Engineering Department, include vacating the building and backfilling it with the newly created Nuclear Engineering Department. Biomedical engineering will move to the Chemical and Biological Engineering Building, which opened in April.
Looking ahead, the university has preliminary plans for 2028 and beyond, which include the possible replacement of the Electrical Engineering East Building and removal and replacement of both the Research West and Engineering Services buildings, said Sullivan.
In addition, the borough is working with Penn State to develop bicycle and pedestrian access to the university’s West Campus through North Gill Street access, said Fountaine. A request from the borough to vacate a portion of North Gill Street came before State College Borough Planning Commission on Thursday in relation to the planned bicycle path, but the commission voted to wait for additional information from the borough before making a recommendation.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 7:32 AM.
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