Penn State trustees approve $100M in building, residence hall upgrades at University Park
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- Trustees to vote on nearly $100 million in University Park projects.
- Boucke $19.4M targets HVAC, windows, fire alarms and plumbing to extend life.
- Pollock Phase 3B $79.8M renovates, adds AC and slightly increases bed capacity.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Feb. 20, 2026 after full board approval.
Penn State trustees approved nearly $100 million in projects at the University Park campus on Friday, between a building systems renewal project at the Boucke Building and the next phase of renovations at the Pollock Residence Halls.
The Committee on Finance and Investment met Thursday morning and approved the projects; the full board took final action on the projects during its meeting on Friday.
The building systems renewal project at the Boucke Building, an academic and administrative building along a major corridor on campus, will replace HVAC systems, windows, fire alarms and more for a total cost of $19.4 million, Mark Miller, associate vice president and chief facilities officer, said during Thursday’s meeting. The building was constructed in 1955 and many of its systems have reached the end of its useful life — or well beyond that, Miller said.
The project won’t be a complete renewal, but is a targeted investment of the core building structure, he said.
“Our goal with this selective system renewal is pretty straightforward. First, we want to improve the reliability of the facility. Second, we want to improve occupant comfort. And third, we want to extend the useful life of the existing asset,” Miller told the board committee.
The project will mainly focus on HVAC renewal and window replacement, he said. They’ll replace outdated mechanical systems, bring in centralized conditioning, automated controls and eliminate inefficient window units. The original single pane steel windows from 1955 will be replaced to improve the thermal performance of the building, Miller said.
“From an operation standpoint, these upgrades will really help us move away from reactive maintenance and into more of a planned and in predictive maintenance on campus, which allows a lot of benefits on … the operation side of the house too,” Miller said. “So that really helps us reduce work orders. It helps us improve the reliability and also the long term stabilization of our operating costs of the facility.”
Some fire alarms and domestic plumbing upgrades will be done as the budget allows.
Construction is anticipated to start in May and be completed in August 2027. There will be about six or seven months of overlap with the construction at the neighboring Osmond Laboratory, so they’ll need to mitigate the adjacency in the space and the logistics and traffic flow along Pollock Road, Miller said.
The project was designed by Alexander Building Construction Co. of State College.
Pollock Residence Halls renovation
The committee also heard a presentation on Phase 3B of the Pollock Residence Halls renovation. This phase includes Hiester and Shulze Halls. The total project cost is $79.8 million.
Pollock is one of Penn State’s largest housing districts. Built in the early 1960s, the halls remain largely original, Miller said. Pollock has about 18% of University Park’s bed count, so it’s crucial to preserve the operation and bed count, he said.
The project is a complete renovation and will take care of all the deferred maintenance in the facilities — about $22.2 million dollars worth. It will completely reset the useful life of the buildings, and will add air conditioning, modernizing building systems, improving accessibility and upgrading the finishes and social spaces, Miller said.
“With this renovation, we’re going to be preserving the existing bed count and actually adding to that a little bit. But we’re also going to be going to the shared core, or the shared wet core, bathroom concept, to provide more privacy in the restrooms, in the bathroom areas. And we’re also going to be updating the lounge space, the study space and the much improved common space,” Miller said.
Construction is expected to begin in May and be completed by July 2027. The project was designed by Clayco of Overland, Missouri.
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 7:25 PM.
