State College Planning Commission recently reviewed final plans for a new five-story apartment building on the 200 block of South Burrowes Street.
The final land development plan for The George apartment building includes 20 units and an adjacent, two-level parking garage, according to a presentation at the planning commission’s Sept. 18 meeting. The plan is mostly the same as a preliminary plan presented in May.
A two-story, five-unit apartment building at 245 S. Burrowes St. and a house with one rental unit at 243 S. Burrowes St. will be razed for construction. The two lots, which are owned by AGL Limited Partnership, have already been consolidated.
A different plan for the same property was submitted and conditionally approved in 2022, and at the time it would have been four floors with 10 units. That plan did not include any inclusionary housing units on site and instead the owner would have paid a fee in lieu.
“…[S]ubsequently the property owner asked us to pursue a design including inclusionary housing on site,” architect Nathan Hutchinson said at the Sept. 18 meeting. “This is the result of that effort.”
The new plan designates two units for inclusionary housing, for which rents are determined based on restricted income guidelines. By making at least 10% of the total units inclusionary, the project can use incentives for the additional fifth floor and to reduce sideyard setbacks from 15 feet to 5 feet.
Plans include 15 four-bedroom, four-bath units at 1,250 square feet each; four three-bedroom, three-bath units at 1,060 square feet; and one two-bedroom, two-bath unit at 776 square feet.
A three-bedroom apartment on the second floor and a four-bedroom unit on the third floor are designated for inclusionary housing. Aside from the inclusionary housing, Hutchinson said the building is most likely to have graduate student tenants, “but there’s nothing that’s going to exclude undergrads” from renting there.
During the discussion of the preliminary plan in May, borough planning staff asked the project team to look into making one of the inclusionary units a two-bedroom, which would be more likely to meet market demand.
Hutchinson said they explored the possibility “extensively,” but because a deduction in parking is permitted based on the amount of inclusionary housing provided, they would have been required to provide additional parking by reducing an inclusionary unit to two bedrooms.
“The site essentially has no capacity for an additional parking space,” Hutchinson said. “It would kick us into needing a second accessible parking space and the only way we could get relief from those requirements would be appealing for a zoning variance, which we did not feel was an owner’s task and was unlikely to be approved.”
A total of 50 parking spaces will be provided, with two surface spots, including an ADA space, and 48 in the two level parking structure. The below-grade lower level of the parking deck will be accessed from Burrowes Street, while the above grade second level will have entry from F Alley to the rear. A wall and landscaping will shield headlights from the property across the street.
Hutchinson previously said conduit will be installed for future EV charging stations at the surface spots and in the deck
A small courtyard will separate the parking deck and the building, which will have entrances from Burrowes Street and F Alley. In addition to five levels of apartments, the building will have a basement with bicycle storage, as well as maintenance and mechanical systems space.
Hutchinson did not indicate a timeline for construction.
