New Hotel Planned for Former Autoport Property

New life may be coming to a portion of the former Autoport property on South Atherton Street.

Plans for a new mixed-use building including a 122-room Home2 Suites hotel to be located at 1401 S. Atherton St. were submitted to the State College Borough planning department on Jan. 17. Home2 Suites is a Hilton brand that offers extended-stay studio and one-bedroom suites and has amenities such as saltwater pools, outdoor lounge areas and fitness and laundry facilities

The new building, which would sit on 2.64 acres of the 3.85-acre property, also would include eight apartment units, one of which will be income-restricted to meet the borough’s inclusionary housing ordinance.

According to borough senior planner Greg Garthe, the restaurant and lounge building will not be demolished as part of the redevelopment. The new building will be constructed on the west side of the property, adjacent to the shopping plaza that contains Talbot’s, Papa John’s and other businesses. A small office building, a commercial building to the rear of the shopping plaza and one of the motel buildings will be demolished for the new hotel.

Parking will be adjacent to the new building and behind the shopping plaza.

The Autoport was Pennsylvania’s oldest motel before closing in December 2015. Owners Greg and Lydia Mussi, who had faced foreclosure and auction since 2014 and declared bankruptcy earlier in 2015, sold the property to South Atherton Real Estate 1 LP for $2.1 million. 

Since The Autoport closed, the property has remained vacant. Last summer crews were seen removing equipment from the building.

South Atherton Real Estate 1 and Concord Hospitality are the developers for the new hotel. South Atherton Real Estate has the same Montoursville address as Welteroth Property Group, which has not returned a phone call seeking comment. Concord Hospitality develops and manages hotels around the country.

Plans for the new building are scheduled to be presented to the State College Design Review Board on Feb. 18 and Planning Commission on Feb. 20.