Developers and local officials gathered Thursday for the ceremonial groundbreaking of The Retreat on Westerly, a new student housing neighborhood set to bring in hundreds more beds to the State College area.
The project, located on the eastern side of Westerly Parkway Plaza site, is being constructed by Landmark Properties, which has developed or manages multiple student housing complexes in the State College area.
Demolition and site work have occurred over the past several months, and major construction is now getting underway.
The Retreat on Westerly marks the developer’s fifth ground-up construction project and will include 142 townhome and garden-style units with 546 beds on the 11.2-acre site. Landmark Properties, in partnership with investment firms Golden Primera and Peninsula Investments, first submitted a land development plan for the project in 2024.
Plans for The Retreat on Westerly, which is expected to be completed in 2027, include a mix of lower-density housing options designed to differ from traditional downtown high-rise student apartments, according to Landmark officials. The project will feature townhomes and garden-style walk-ups, along with amenities such as a clubhouse, study spaces and outdoor recreation areas.
“This is a very exciting moment seeing groundbreaking,” State College Mayor Ezra Nanes said. “I’ve personally enjoyed watching this project unfold, and being here within the fence is really nice because you can see and feel the scale of what’s happening,”
The development will add needed housing as the borough continues to grow, Nanes said, citing demand driven by Penn State’s student population and broader economic activity.
“There are some really important benefits that this project will bring to the region. Needless to say, if you come to a borough council meeting, you’re going to hear the word housing. You’re going to hear it a lot. We need housing,” he said. “The community is growing. We have an increasing student population. We have growth in our economic activity here, and we need places where people live. So this project will … will benefit everybody because it increases our available housing stock. There are economic benefits to this project that will also benefit everybody in the State College region.”
The two commercial buildings on the site had grown dilapidated in recent years as business tenants departed the property, which Nanes said made it a key redevelopment opportunity within the borough. (The side Weis Markets/Crunch Fitness side of the plaza and the Toasted Bagel Cafe property are not affected by the redevelopment.)
“I think this is really one of the prime available pieces of real estate that we had in the borough, and to see it be redeveloped is really exciting,” Nanes said. “It’s been vacant for some time, and it was in need of redevelopment.”
The redevelopment plan reconfigured the property from four parcels into three, including a former grass lot fronting Waupelani Drive. Landmark purchased an approximately 11-acre section from State College Joint Venture to build the new housing community.
The two aging commercial structures were demolished at the tail-end of 2025, clearing way for 21 residential buildings ranging from two to three stories. The housing mix will include two to five bedrooms Plans also feature a 10,423-square-foot clubhouse, resort-style pool, pickleball court, sauna and cold plunge, Jumbotron, study lounges, fitness center, grilling and fire pit areas and multisport simulator.
Units will include quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, hardwood-style laminate flooring, in-unit laundry and private bathrooms for each bedroom. Each residence will come fully furnished and equipped with high-speed internet, cable access and Wi-Fi-enabled thermostats.
Developers said the design aims to create a neighborhood-style environment while remaining accessible to campus and nearby retail. The site will also provide 417 parking spaces and storage space for bicycles and scooters, as well as a CATA bus stop to support public transit access.
Vehicle access will be available via Westerly Parkway and Waupelani Drive, with an additional right-turn-only exit planned at the intersection of Waupelani Drive and O’Bryan Lane.
Nick Lev, a development manager with Landmark, said the project reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to the region.
“Landmark specializes in the acquisition, development, construction and management of high quality residential communities,” Lev said. “We have been honored to have the opportunity to invest in Happy Valley over the years. Since our initial project, the Retreat State College, was delivered in 2013, we have developed over 2,750 beds for the Penn State University student body and local residents, with another 1,060 beds underway across two new projects.”
Landmark officials said the continued expansion is driven by sustained demand for student housing near Penn State.
The company cited high occupancy rates across existing properties and steady enrollment at the university as indicators of long-term market strength. Most student housing in the area operates near full capacity, supporting the need for additional supply, according to developers.
“The reason why we’ve continued to invest in this area is because of our belief in Penn State University, it’s a great school,” Lev said. “Kids from around the country are going to continue to want to go to Penn State; there’s about 50,000 students there right now. You’re not seeing any reduction of growth, growth is slow and steady year over year. There is still a need. You see it through the high occupancy at the student housing that is around this area. There’s still high demand. There’s a need for additional supply, and we’re happy to invest additional dollars here and build more projects.
“We’ve seen the headlines of decreasing college enrollment, but our thought is that when you’re dealing with schools like Penn State University, you’re not seeing that. In any of the major public universities there’s just more demand than there is supply of spots at that university. And because of that, even though there might be less total college students nationwide, we do not anticipate there to be a reduction in enrollment at schools like this. And so because of that, we continue to believe that this is a very strong student housing market and continue to be so.”
In addition to the housing development, Landmark announced a philanthropic contribution tied to the project — $10,000 to Mount Nittany Health Foundation.
“Specifically, this donation will help support the Centre County Children’s Advocacy Center and its mission to provide care and support to young survivors of abuse on their path,” Lev said.
Adrienne Krasowitz, executive director of the Mount Nittany Health Foundation, said the donation will directly benefit local health initiatives.
“We’re excited to have [Landmark] here in our community,” Krasowitz said. “Our foundation supports the mission of Mount Nittany health, which is to deliver best in class healthcare right here at home in our community and region, healthier people, stronger community. It is a simple and profound mission. Every dollar raised in our current rising to new heights campaign goes directly back into healthcare for this community. So thank you for your generous gift. We look forward to working with you in the years to come, and we are very grateful.”
The Retreat on Westerly is one of two projects Landmark has under development in the area, with another development, The Mark State College, expected to be delivered in 2028, Lev noted.
Landmark currently operates four student housing properties in the State College area: The Station, The Legacy, The Metropolitan and The Standard. The company also developed the original Retreat property across Waupelani Drive, which has since been sold and renamed.
As construction begins, borough officials said the project represents both a response to housing demand and a step forward in redeveloping a long-unused property.
“This is a good investment for Landmark and our partners because of the large enrollment, the strong applications that are going to continue, and the current balance of supply and demand for student housing beds. Most of the student housing properties in this market are 95 to 100% occupied, and that shows that more supply should be needed,” Lev said.
