After years of dormancy, the first developmental steps for the Fraser Centre Project were taken Monday as updates on the project were presented to the State College Borough Council.
Susquehanna Real Estate (SRE) president Jack Kay headed the presentation, which outlined several key changes in the $50 to 51-million project, such as transitioning two floors of the location from residential space to office space in order to gain “potential buyer interest.”
The project began in 2007 with the destruction of the old Municipal Building, followed by the Medical Arts building, both located along the 100 block of Fraser Street. Since then, an empty lot of rubble has remained in the center of town.
“We see the glass half full [with the project],” Kay said. “We’re starting to see the daylight coming through.”
Council member Theresa Lafer agreed that having office space in the building would do good to attract more business to the borough.
“I see it as a seed of continued development,” she said. “I’m very pleased with it.”
However, not all council members shared the optimism.
Council member Silvi Lawrence called the plan an “over-commitment” and “over-ambitious” of the town to develop it. Following Kay’s presentation, Lawrence remained skeptical about SRE’s construction schedule, which is currently set to begin in October of this year, three years after its groundbreaking ceremony. The project is scheduled to finish by spring of 2012.
“I don’t know how you’re going to do this by October,” Lawrence said. “But please prove me wrong…good luck.”
Several other features of the new plan include residential condos on the upper floors and a state-of-the-art cinema complete with a potential IMAX theater, Kay said.
Following Kay’s presentation, council briefly discussed the West End Zoning ordinance with Planning Director Carl Hess. The ordinance is currently designed to include two to five story buildings for both commercial and residential use.
Council decided to postpone discussion of the ordinance to an afternoon meeting to allow more time for consideration before holding a public hearing. There is currently no date set for the discussion.
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