Designed in the 1930s by Charles Klauder, who was the architect behind many of Penn State’s most recognizable buildings, the Agricultural Engineering Building at University Park is home to scientific disciplines that have evolved in ways that could not have been foreseen 75 years ago.
At the same time, enrollment and research in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, which is housed in the building has grown exponentially in the past decade.
The university says it’s time to renovate and expand to let education and research flourish.
‘The department long has played a crucial role in improving agricultural processes and technologies, protecting our natural resources, and developing sustainable, biologically based products and renewable energy sources,’ College of Agricultural Sciences Dean Richard Roush said. ‘The department’s research, extension and increasingly popular academic programs require modern laboratories, classrooms and shared spaces that promote a multidisciplinary approach, and this project will blend historical aesthetics with state-of-the-art facilities to achieve that goal.’
On Friday, Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved final plans and $44.5 million in construction costs refurbish and expand the building.
The Klauder-designed facade of the building will be maintained and the front portion renovated. But the remaining 80 percent of the building will be demolished and reconstructed, adding 35,000-square-feet of building to the site increasing the overall building footprint to 93,500-square-feet. Of that, assignable space (offices, conference rooms, classrooms and labs) will increase from 44,581 to 55,974 square feet.
Construction is scheduled to begin this summer and finish in January 2018.
Track Replacement
Trustees also approved the replacement of the track surface at the Nittany Lion Outdoor Track at University Park at a cost of $1.45 million. The track was last replaced in the mid-1990s. Penn State is scheduled to host the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships in May 2017.
MPI Building Purchase
Trustees agreed to the purchase of the MPI Research Building at 3058 Research Drive in Ferguson Township for $2.25 million. The 18,000 square-feet, three-story building will be used as swing space by the College of Engineering and a potential incubation space.
The .84 acre property is located across from other university properties. MPI sold another of its Research Drive buildings to New Jersey-based Phibro Animal Health last year.
All of the above projects, along with an $11 million renovation project at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, passed unanimously and without comment.
