At this point, it’s hard to not notice the construction of the two mixed-use buildings that are underway in downtown State College.
“Construction is proceeding,” said the Fraser Centre’s developer Gary Brandeis of Real Estate Capital Management. “If you walk by the site you can see it is proceeding quickly and efficiently.”
Since above ground construction at the Fraser Centre began toward the end of spring at the corner of Beaver Avenue and Fraser Street, a spokesperson for the Borough of State College Courtney Hayden said the borough has not received any recent updates regarding any calendar changes.
Construction is also sticking to the schedule so far, Hayden said. Contractors are currently putting up the steel core of the building and pouring concrete. The hope is to have the lower floors enclosed before the harsh winter weather, Brandeis said.
When the Fraser Centre is complete, the building that will cover about 50,000 square feet will include retail space, a new Hyatt Place hotel with 165 rooms and 26 residential condominium units, according to the building’s website. The hotel will also offer a fitness center, business center and conference center.
Brandeis said he and his team have not announced any of the retailers yet, but that they anticipate doing so some time in November once they confirm more leases. He said that he expects most of the retails spaces to open in the fall of 2016, and the hotel and residential spaces to open closer to the end of 2016.
While construction is still proceeding at The Metropolitan, which is located at the southwest corner of College Avenue and Atherton Street, the project’s timeline was pushed back a year due to delays experience over the winter.
According to the building’s website, in late May it revised the completion date from July 2016 to July 2017 for reasons it attributed to the harsh winter.
“The revised delivery date will allow for additional design changes and enhancements to the building to be accomplished,” according to the Metropolitan website.
However, unlike the Fraser Centre, construction at The Metropolitan has not resulted in any significant lane closures or traffic disruptions, Hayden said.
“The lane closure on Fraser Street has really added to the impact on the business owners,” Hayden said.
While Fraser Street merchants are remaining open for business during the construction period, the street is operating as a one-way street traveling Northbound between Beaver Avenue and Calder Way.
“The Downtown Improvement District and the developers are working with the Fraser Centre to make sure business owners are well aware of anything from street closures to putting in a new telephone wire,” Hayden said.
The Downtown Improvement District is also sending out announcements of construction changes and closures to subscribers, which Hayden said has received positive feedback from the pubic.
The completed construction of both buildings will help accomplish the goals of the borough’s Downtown Master Plan, which was designed and approved to bring more people to State College and to create a most pedestrian friendly downtown.
Hayden said, “The council adopted the Downtown Master Plan with the idea that it would encourage new development downtown that would have the potential to bring in income earners, businesses to help the property tax base and that it would make a more sustainable pedestrian downtown.”
