At least one anticipated tenant is now known for a planned commercial development on the former Autoport property in State College.
Starbucks will anchor a cluster of six retail spaces planned as part of the multiphase redevelopment of the South Atherton Street site, according to Kandy Weader of Bennett Williams, the commercial real estate agent for the property.
The national coffee chain will “anchor the in-line retail end cap,” Weader wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. The anchor space depicted on preliminary plans submitted to the brough is 2,033 square feet with a drive-thru.
Bennett Williams is “now pre-leasing 1,450 – 3,600 SF of small brick & mortar space—perfect for boutique retailers, service concepts, or elevated fast-casual users looking to be part of a premium development,” Williams wrote.
A preliminary land development plan submitted to the borough in February by PennTerra Engineering on behalf of owner/developer South Atherton Real Estate 1 LP was originally scheduled for review in March, then in April by the State College Planning Commission and Design Review Board. Borough senior planner Daniel McCombie said in March, however, that the reviews were put on hold because the developer intends to submit a revised plan.
The preliminary plan submitted in February included a 6,538-square foot convenience store and gas station with fueling canopy and 14 pumps planned at the southeastern end of the property for phase one of the development.
Phase two would be the in-line retail spaces anchored by Starbuscks.
Phase three showed another, 5,484-square-foot restaurant with drive-thru ordering and pick-up canopies. The fourth phase appears to be related to an existing storage building and parking, though details of planned improvements were not clear.
Plans also depitct an access driveway with a proposed signalized intersection on South Atherton Street between the phase one and phase two developments. New landscaping and a stone retaining wall along the length of the property fronting South Atherton Street were depicted in the land development plan and renderings, as well.
The preliminary plan was not withdrawn, and McCombie said at a recent Planning Commission meeting that the revised plan is not expected to deviate significantly. New review dates have not been scheduled.
Weader wrote on Monday that “beyond the in-line shops, the project also features opportunities for a hotel, large QSR, and junior box pad users, making this a dynamic, mixed-use destination with built-in synergy.”
The property has sat vacant for more than a decade since the Autoport, Pennsylvania’s oldest motel, closed in December 2015. The owners faced foreclosure and auction since 2014 and declared bankruptcy earlier in 2015 before selling the property to South Atherton Real Estate 1 LP for $2.1 million.
The first movement to rejuvenate the site came in 2020, when plans were submitted for an 80,000-square foot, four-story building on a parcel separate from the new plan at the northwest end of the site. It would have included a 122-room Home2 Suites by Hilton and eight apartments, but the plan was reviewed but was subsequently withdrawn by the developer.
In May 2024, numerous trees were cleared from the length of the site, and a month later Bennett Williams Commercial real estate agency listed parcels on the property for lease as part of a “new, high-end retail development.”
