STATE COLLEGE — Plans have been submitted to College Township for the construction of a bank on College Avenue at the old Honda Track and Trail location.
The proposed mixed-use commercial bank building has four stories and includes a rear parking deck.
The first level will contain 10,000 square feet in what looks to be the commercial area of the bank. The second and third stories are planned for 16,000 square feet of office space each, along with a smaller fourth floor at 2,920 square feet.
The building plans show vehicle access points from Squirrel Drive and College Avenue. College Township Engineer Don Franson said that he is unaware of the name of the bank that plans to use the building. The developer and equitable owner listed on the plans is 1275 East Pennsylvania Ave I LP, out of Montoursville, managed by Gregory Welteroth. The entity is also owner of the Hill Top Mobile Home Park land behind the proposed bank building. No plans had been submitted for that property as of yet, according to Franson.
Franson said plans for the bank building were submitted to the township a couple of weeks ago and they have until Friday, March 1, to review them and send any initial concerns back to the developer. Then, the developer will send the plans back to the township to review and the Planning Commission plans to review them at its March 19 meeting.
Honda Track and Trail owners Steven and Donna Williams are listed as owners of the property on the development plans. The site was home to Honda Track and Trail and State College Battery Outlet until Track and Trail moved in October to a new location on Route 322 in Spring Mills after 30 years on College Avenue. Franson said it appears that a sale for the College Avenue site to 1275 East Pennsylvania Ave will finalize if the plans are approved.
Above the potential bank property site sits the former Hilltop Mobile Home Park, which was vacated in 2013 when the property owner sold the land to developers, but zoning concerns caused the project to stall. The land has sat empty since and is currently owned by 1275 East Pennsylvania Ave I LP, according to a deed recorded by Centre County. That company bought the property for $7,070,760 on March 3, 2017, according to Recorder of Deeds Joseph Davidson. Franson said that College Township has received no new plans for the area.
According to Davidson, the tax bill for 1275 East Pennsylvania Ave I LP is sent to 356 Laurens Drive, Montoursville, the location of Gregory Welteroth Advertising. The Autoport, Pennsylvania’s oldest motel, was sold to South Atherton Real Estate 1 for $2.1 million in December 2015, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Middle District of Pennsylvania. That company also has an address listed as 356 Laurens Road in Montoursville. The Autoport has sat empty since that purchase.
On the Welteroth Property Group webpage, the Hilltop Mobile Home Park property is listed as available for lease. The 32-acre property at 1275 E. Pennsylvania Ave. is listed as gateway commercial property type, with amenities including being a mile from Penn State University and Beaver Stadium, immediately off of Interstate 322, adjacent to multiple hotels, restaurants and local businesses, directly adjacent to Thompson Woods Preserve and Walnut Spring Park, with views of Happy Valley and beyond.
The Autoport is also listed on the Welteroth Property Group webpage as an available restaurant, with 3.85 acres of property including an 8,112-square-foot restaurant, an 8,000-square-foot basement and a 2,500-square-foot patio area.
A call to Welteroth was not returned.
