Dozens of tenants of an income-restricted apartment building for older residents in downtown State College face an uncertain future after learning that the property may be sold and redeveloped.
Residents of the privately-owned Arnold Addison Court, 120 E. Beaver Ave., which has tenants who are 62 and older or have disabilities, received a letter from property manager Calibre Residential on Friday stating that the property is “currently under consideration by new investors” and that all current leases will now have an end date of Nov. 30, 2026.
Borough officials confirmed during Monday night’s council meeting that a developer submitted on Dec. 5 a preliminary land development plan for a proposed new seven-story, mixed-use building on the Addison Court site. The plans are currently under review for zoning compliance by borough staff.
Speaking during public comment at the council meeting, resident Kathryn Santoro said she just moved into Addison Court in August, but that some tenants have been there 10, 20 or 30 years. She added that having recently moved she doesn’t think she would have the money for a security deposit to move again.
“We, the tenants of Addison Court, object to having to move because of not having affordable housing, mobility or disability housing available in State College or the surrounding area and transportation issues,” Santoro said, quoting from a petition signed by 27 tenants.
Named for former State College Mayor Arnold Addison, the 89-unit Addison Court was constructed using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits by developer Unico Corporation and opened in 1994. With the interest of making affordable housing for seniors available downtown, the borough provided a $440,000 loan for the property acquisition, which was repaid in full in 2012, Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said.
The property, which also houses Masala Palace Indian restaurant, is currently owned by Beaver Court Associates LP, and the 30-year residential affordability requirements of the tax credits expired in 2024, meaning the owner no longer has an obligation under the federal tax credit program to maintain it as income-restricted housing.
As of 2019, the most recent figures available, 56 of the one- and two-bedroom apartments had Section 8 vouchers, 74 units were rented to households with incomes of less than 60% of the median area income for State College and 15 units were rented to households with incomes less than 50% of the median, Fountaine said.
According to records provided to the borough last week, 29% of the units in the building are currently vacant, with 63 of the 89 apartments leased, Fountaine said.
The Centre County Housing Authority has been notified of the potential ownership change and “will be advising [tenants] on the necessary next steps,” according to the letter received by residents of the building.
“We understand this news may cause uncertainty, and we want to assure you that we will continue to keep you informed of any developments, working closely with the Housing Authority,” Calibre Residential Vice President James Hook wrote.
Fountaine said that borough staff have also been in contact with residents “and spent time at Addison Court last week to provide information and support to tenants in response to the lease notice.”
He added that the notice “does not say what they might expect after the current leases expire on November 30, 2026.”
Primecore, which co-developed the neighboring Pugh Centre, submitted the preliminary land development plan for the new building, which is referred to as “Encore.” The plans, which were viewed by StateCollege.com, show a U-shaped building that essentially mirrors the Pugh Centre, with underground parking, first-floor commercial space and six floors of apartments.
Ara Kervandjian, a State College-based developer and CEO of Primecore, did not immediately respond on Tuesday to emailed questions about whether the new building would be intended for student housing, or if there was a possibility Addison Court residents might be able to stay beyond the new lease-end date.
The plans are scheduled for review by the State College Design Review Board at 2 p.m. on Jan. 6 and the Planning Commission at noon on Jan. 7, borough Planning Director Ed LeClear said.
Council member Josh Portney inquired about whether parking minimums put in the zoning code to make redeveloping parcels like Addison Court’s more challenging might be an obstacle for the proposed new building. But LeClear said that, though still under review, the plan seems to be “at a broad level” compliant with zoning requirements.
Council President Evan Myers said that Addison Court is important to the borough, but because the borough has no ownership stake in the building, it is limited in what it can do.
“Clearly, we have a strong interest in the property. This is an important apartment complex and housing unit in downtown State College, and that is of critical importance in the community,” Myers said. “But … I think it’s important that the community understand the legality and the real estate and who owns what and what we can do and what we can’t do. And what we can’t do is have an impact on this particular property as it exists now. As long as people have submitted a plan or are going forward under the current law, we have to abide by that.”
Still, Myers said the borough can work to help residents find affordable housing.
“Now, that doesn’t mean we’re going to be successful immediately, and it’s also something that we should look at in the long term,” Myers said.
Susan Venegoni, a longtime affordable housing professional and former president of the State College Community Land Trust, said it will be difficult to find similar accommodations for Addison Court residents. The situation, she said, shows a need for local government investment in affordable housing rather then relying largely on private developers using federal tax credits.
“I think if we had some goals and metrics of things that we’re hoping to accomplish in the area of affordability, there may be some other options for the people now that are going to be displaced,” Venegoni said. “It’s going to be really tough to find a place with the amenities at the affordability anywhere near here. And we can do better and I know that, so i just urge council as part of the whole zoning [code revision] and thinking about affordability, we’ve got to do something on our own that augments the federal funding.”
Council member Kevin Kassab said he wants the borough to think long-term to avoid potential displacement of affordable housing residents down the road.
“We all know it’s probably going to be very difficult to locate [Addison Court residents] in the borough,” Kassab said. “And I understand why they want to be in the borough … the access to CATA and all that, shops, Target. So it is a really sad situation. So I just want to make that clear that when we look at things like this, that we look at the future and what it does to individuals.”
