Whether it’s a shared entrepreneurial working space, a science museum, or a mixed-use condominium complex, a change will be coming to a major downtown building.
In 2007, the State College Borough purchased the Verizon building, located at 224 S. Allen St., with a plan to resell the property. Eight years have passed and the borough is now entertaining proposals for the space.
At Monday night’s borough council meeting, Discovery Space board member Stephen Helmerich was one of four presenters with proposals for the building.
The children’s science museum has outgrown its 112 W. Foster Ave. location and is looking for a more spacious home, preferably in downtown State College. Helmerich says that the Verizon building isn’t ideal for the museum because this region could support a science museum with up to 15,000 square feet, but adds that nobody ever has as much space as they want.
The Verizon building does not provide an area for bus unloading, which would be necessary for student trips to the museum.
“We are interested in the Verizon Building if it could be obtained for no or minimal cost,” Helmerich says. “If the acquisition price is too high, we’ll have to look elsewhere for additional space, preferably in downtown State College.”
Councilman Peter Morris, for one, says that keeping the Discovery Space downtown is extremely important.
The second presentation came from Ara Kervandjian, a local developer with PennTrust Properties. The developer wants to construct a seven-story building with two floors of commercial space topped by five floors of condominiums.
Kervandjian has reached an agreement with First National Bank, located next door, to partner in the proposed building, which would have 2.5 stories of underground parking and aims to give the Discovery Space a premier location within the property.
“We would be able to turn it over to them at cost, not at market rate,” he says. “What we’re building is a true private-public partnership that includes space for a nonprofit.”
Kervandijan says the proposed building would include 28 to 36 residential units, the majority of which would be two bedrooms.
The third proposal came courtesy of Deborah Howard, Penn State’s Director for Facilities Resources and Planning.
“We have a new president who has come in with a focus on redevelopment, entrepreneurship, and incubator space. He wanted a co-working center in a downtown location that could be in walking distance to the campus,” she says. “Our vision is to start a service for startup companies. What we’re looking for is not industrial, but more focused on the office type space of entrepreneurship.”
Penn State wants to use the building, which it currently occupies, to install the Invent Penn State Co-working Center. A team of seasoned local entrepreneurs would select tenant awardees, who would receive up to 12 months of rent-free office space and business services.
The university does not want to buy the building, but instead occupy it for five years on an interim basis to determine future plans to continue an entrepreneurial-shared workspace.
The fourth and final proposal came was DigiFabLab founder David Celentro, who explained 3rd Revolution’s proposed use of the building.
“In terms of synergy, I’m about to add a third layer to the sandwich,” he said.
3rd Revolution is a network for people to manage projects and collaborate on ideas. It intends to use the Verizon building for a Maker Space, which is similar to what Penn State is proposing.
“Our mission is to create a vibrant environment for ‘making’ that fosters creative inquiry, innovation, and entrepreneurial activity in the region,” the proposal says. “Given sufficient funding and space, this environment would also include co-working, co-housing, studios, and exhibition space.”
The council did not hold any discussion on the four proposals, which will be considered as it weighs its options for the future of the Verizon building. There is no clear timetable for the borough’s plans.
Note: Stephen Helmerich was previously misidentified as Roger Bagwell. The story has been updated to reflect that.
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