Hotels, housing and more: What to know about 5 Centre County construction sites

Construction season may be winding down, but there are still a number of projects in the works and active sites across Centre County.

From the development boom taking place along Shiloh Road, to larger building projects like Mount Nittany’s Toftrees outpatient center and the Beaver Stadium renovations, 2024 has been a busy year for construction and development in Centre County.

Not every project is as recognizable — or comes with as high a price tag — as the stadium renovation, for example. There are other work sites that you may drive by and wonder what’s happening, or longtime projects you’ve been looking for an update on.

We’ve rounded up five of those projects here, and plan for a regular series to keep you updated. If you have questions about sites or something you think we should include in the future, email jmichael@centredaily.com.

Shady Lane Estates

Work is underway for a 90-lot housing development in Walker Township, directly across East College Avenue from the Zion Cemetery. Called Shady Lane Estates, the development will feature duplexes.

The construction of the estates is going to be completed in by two different companies, JVH Excavating of Goldsboro and Centre County-based company Berks Homes, according to JVH representative James Hoffman.

JVH Excavating will construct the lots that each duplex will sit on, and Berks Homes will construct the duplexes.

The excavating company has broken its share of the work up into three separate phases, and is currently working on the first phase — the construction of the first 40 duplex lots. The remaining 50 duplex lots will be built across the final two phases.

After the first phase is competed, Berks Housing will then come onto the site and begin the construction of the first 40 duplexes.

Hoffman anticipates the first 40 lots to be finished by June 2025, although no other timeline was provided for the completion of the second and third phases, as well as the overall Shady Lane Estates project.

Berks Housing did not respond to a request for comment.

Jersey Mike’s

A new 1,500-square-foot Jersey Mike’s, located in College Township at 430 Shiloh Road between Premiere Drive and East Trout Road, is under construction.

This will be Centre County’s third Jersey Mike’s location, joining the 2135 S. Atherton St. and 2009 N. Atherton St. locations.

According to College Township Assistant Manager Mike Bloom, Cedar Cliff Properties started work on the eatery in the summer, with intentions on finishing construction before the end of the year.

The sandwich shop will include a new feature that the other two Jersey Mike’s in the area do not have — a pickup window for online or pickup orders.

Also coming in along Shiloh Road is a Home2 Suites hotel by Hilton, and plans for a $20 million Pennsylvania Game Commission regional office are also in the works.

Benner Pike hotels, gas station rebuild

Not dissimilar to Shiloh Road, Benner Pike has a number of active construction sites worth noting.

The first construction site, located directly across from the Bellefonte Lanes and next to the G.M. McCrossin building, will be a 12,000-square-foot Tru by Hilton Hotel.

The construction crew working on the 98-room hotel broke ground in June, and is anticipating the hotel to be completed in June 2025.

A bit further down road toward Bellefonte, at the intersection of Amberleigh Lane and Benner Pike, will sit a 52,015-square-foot, dual-brand hotel being built by the InterContinental Hotel Group. It also broke ground in June.

The two brands that the hotel will offer are Avid Hotels, a brand focusing more on shorter-term stays, and Candlewood Suites, a brand that caters more toward longer-term stays, with rooms available for shorter stays as well.

Between the two brands, the hotel will offer over 107 rooms. IHG anticipates the hotel being finished in July 2025.

Another active construction site along Benner Pike is the rebuild of Sheetz, found at 2850 Benner Pike across from the Greystone Court Villas.

After the rebuild is complete, the new 6,139-square-foot store will offer fill-up spots for 12 vehicles, indoor and outdoor seating, a drive-thru and a new car wash.

The Sheetz closed in early July for the rebuild and plans to be up and running again by December.

These three construction sites are just a few of many ongoing projects along Benner Pike. A new McDonald’s has been built next to Giant, Centre County’s first Wawa is in the works and a potential Arby’s could be coming. A fulfillment center warehouse and several other projects are also planned in the area.

College Township hotel

Construction of a new hotel at 1414 Dreibelbis Street in College Township started in 2019 and was originally scheduled to open no later than fall 2020.

The future 63,000-square-foot Holiday Inn University Park has faced a number of delays, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDT previously reported.

According to College Township Assistant Manager Mike Bloom and the township’s Principle Planner Lindsay Schoch, work is still being done on the site by a small construction crew, although a timeline for the hotel’s completion was not provided.

The hotel was planned to have 101 rooms, a fitness center, an indoor swimming pool, and bar and lounge, a restaurant and some meeting spaces.

StarGrande LLC, the project developers, did not respond to a request for comment.

Patton Crossing

Patton Crossing, the site of the former Penn State Mobile Home Park on North Atherton Street, has seen on and off construction for several years.

Patton Township approved a master plan for the 30-acre area in 2019 with sprawling plans to construct a hotel, housing and several new businesses.

Since then, only an Aldi has been constructed on the grounds, despite a groundbreaking for Centre 1st Bank’s headquarters being held in 2022.

According to Patton Township Manager Amy Farkas, Patton Township has not heard from Centre 1st Bank regarding a timeline for the project, although they also have not provided any indication of backing out.

The construction that’s been going on recently at the Patton Crossing has solely been infrastructure work on the retaining wall, the roadway entering Patton Crossing (Wolts Lane) and the traffic light at the intersection of North Atherton Street and Wolts Lane, Farkas said.

Now that the majority of all that infrastructure work has been completed, the next step is for potential businesses to submit development plans to the township.

The full scope of the Patton Crossing project is expected to be complete by 2042.

Centre 1st Bank did not respond to a request for comment.