The Metropolitan, the 12-story high-rise at the corner of West College Avenue and South Atherton Street, opened on Friday for its more than 500 residents to move in following four years of planning and construction.
All 540 beds in the building’s 132 apartments have been leased, according to Landmark Properties, the Georgia-based developer that partnered with PennTrust Properties in 2015 to construct the high-rise.
“We’re excited to open our doors to more than 500 students, welcoming them to their new homes in State College,” Landmark Properties president and CEO Wes Rogers said in a statement.
“We’re thrilled to be a part of the State College community, and we’re thankful so many students have chosen to call The Metropolitan their new home.”
Landmark previously developed The Retreat student housing complex on Waupelani Drive.
The 146-foot tall Metropolitan has apartments ranging from studios to five bedrooms and in addition to students, it also has apartments for professionals.
Residents have access to a 9,000-square foot clubhouse with flat screens and billiards, a ‘resort-style’ pool with outdoor terrace, fitness center, private study rooms, a computer lab and an internet cafe. The building has an underground parking garage accessed from the alley at the rear of the building.
The first two floors, about 32,000 square feet, are designated for retail and commercial. A spokesman for Landmark said the firm was finalizing agreements and not yet ready to announce commercial and retail tenants.
The Metropolitan is the newest high-rise in a wave of completed and planned new construction in downtown State College.
The long-awaited, 12-story Fraser Centre opened in October, with Target and H&M opening their doors. The 158-room Hyatt Place hotel opened in the spring and Federal Taphouse restaurant and bar opened in the building this summer.
Construction is under way for The Rise at State College, located on the site formerly occupied by Kildare’s Irish Pub and a neighboring apartment building. A 12-story, 140-foot tall building that will be occupied by a street-level grocery store, graduate and professional apartments and undergraduate student apartments, The Rise is expected to open in 2018.
A seven-story, mixed use building is under construction at 260 E. Beaver Ave. The new 98,000 square foot building, which will include first floor retail space, 40 apartments on the next five floors, and office space on the top level. Underground parking is also incorporated in the plans.
In July, State College Borough Council approved a conditional use permit for The Residences at College and Atherton, a 12-story, 455,000 square foot building across Atherton Street from The Metropolitan. The mixed-use residential and retail high-rise would occupy nearly the entire block of West College Avenue between South Burrowes Street and South Atherton Street, including the current sites of 312-338 W. College Ave. and 109-113 S. Atherton St.
