Penn State to Purchase Science Park Road Property for $26.75 Million

Already leased by the university’s Applied Research Lab, Penn State will purchase a property in Ferguson Township for $26.75 million following approval by the Board of Trustees on Friday.

Penn State ARL has leased the 120,890 square foot building at 225 Science Park Road since it was constructed in 2009. The lease with C2S LP included an option to buy, and Kurt Kissinger, associate vice president for finance and business, said at a board committee meeting on Thursday that purchasing now will save about $14 million over a 20-year period.

The facility, which sits on 6.5 acres, was built-to-suit specifically for ARL and currently houses its undersea systems office.

‘This is an integral component of building out the Science Park Road campus of the Applied Research Lab,’ Kissinger said.

ARL, the university’s largest interdisciplinary research institute, is a self-supporting unit and will debt-finance the purchase. David Gray, senior vice president for finance and business, said on Friday that since 2015 ARL’s research income has increased 54%, reaching $303 million in 2019-20. 

In 2018, the U.S. Navy awarded ARL the largest research contract in Penn State history, worth as much as $2.1 billion.

That same year, ARL, which dates back to 1945, began a five-year recapitalization plan to enhance its research facilities and infrastructure and accommodate the growth.

In 2019, the university acquired two other Ferguson Township properties for ARL as part of the plan. 

Penn State bought a 19,200-square-foot property at 3011-15 Research Drive in Cato Park from Leitzinger Properties for $1.625 million after leasing it with an option to buy. That facility is being used for the land vehicle research program. 

The university also purchased the Karch-Taylor Building at 1771 Pine Hall Road, a large portion of which ARL had been leasing for business services and other administrative functions. Penn State acquired the 34,917-square-foot building and property for $6.9 million.

Those are among multiple properties owned by Penn State in Cato Park and the Science Park Road corridor.

Penn State ARL is one of 15 U.S. Department of Defense University Affiliated Research Centers, providing research capabilities, developing new technology for national security applications, and providing  technical advice to the defense department and other federal agencies.