State College to Use Preemption Law for Parking Lot. Are More Land Acquisitions Expected?

State College Borough officials will use preemption powers to seize downtown properties as part of a larger plan to replace the Pugh Street parking lot — and have signaled that more land could be acquired.

During Monday’s borough council meeting, council unanimously approved the use of the right of eminent domain — the government’s right to take private property for a public purpose (with compensation) — at 142 McAllister Street to build a parking lot to replace the Pugh Street parking lot, which is nearing the end of its useful life.

The move comes nearly a year after plans to use the eminent domain to seize the property at 219 E. Beaver Ave., home to businesses such as The Brewery, Canyon Pizza, Canyon Wings and Music Mart, were rejected. After initially approving the measure, the district faced weeks of unprecedented opposition before it reversed course. During that time, many people opposed the district’s use of the eminent domain and shared their stories and love for the businesses, particularly The Brewery.

The council nonetheless approved a resolution to take possession of the property at 142 McAllister St., which includes a rental home owned by Rodney Hendricks, in August 2023. Monday’s resolution adopted an ordinance directing an attorney to prepare and file an affidavit of possession with the Centre County Court of Common Pleas.

Council member Matt Herndon said the city taking over the property is a powerful move, and in this case, they also have a deadline and are essentially forced to do something. He said he’s “gritting his teeth” and hopes it can be part of a more holistic approach to parking.

Will The Brewery still be part of your future plans?

Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said Monday that it was “definitely a possibility” the borough would reconsider acquiring the Beaver Avenue land for a future parking lot.

During a meeting with the public, Jay Horgas, co-owner of The Brewery, said that when he spoke with Fountaine earlier in the day, he mentioned that they would be willing to work with the borough.

“If there’s a way that we can be involved … in what happens next, I’d like to be included in those discussions. We’re open to any options that can help the district and ourselves,” Horgas said.

Later in the meeting, as council discussed the property at 142 McAllister St., council member Gopal Balachandran raised the issue of neighboring properties and asked if that might be a possibility in the future.

“…It seems like there may be opportunities to think more holistically and broadly about this parcel of land that is on this part of Beaver Avenue. So I just wanted to raise that and ask if that will be a topic of future discussions,” Balachandran said.

Fountaine said the borough “would be happy to talk to (Horgas) and consider all available options.”

Horgas emphasized that he wanted to be included in the conversation and wanted the process to be as public as possible. He sees the “bigger picture” and is therefore receptive to the idea, he said.

“We’re in a situation where we need to address this parking lot. … I think we could come up with something more holistic that would make everyone happy. And I’m not saying this is the death of The Brewery or anything like that,” Horgas said. “I just recognize that when Buffalo Wild Wings comes into town, the makeup of the town changes and the community in general doesn’t like all the changes that have happened. (I’m trying to) preserve some of the old charm of State College, but it might be too late.”

Millions to replace parking lots

The council also adopted a Capital Improvement Plan for 2025-2029, which includes the replacement of the Pugh Street garage. Site selection and an application for proposals should be completed this year, with any land acquisitions expected to occur in late 2024 or early 2025, it said.

The CIP shows that replacing the parking structures will cost more than $54 million in total. Herndon disputed that and suggested removing the item from the CIP and creating a new item.

“We should be working on creating a new component that more broadly addresses parking, transportation, housing and safety in the neighborhood,” he said. “…There are a lot of workers in the neighborhood who can’t afford to live here. We need to address that by adding affordable housing to the neighborhood so they can live here, and that should be part of that component.”

Other council members didn’t necessarily disagree with his thinking and agreed that it needed to be approached holistically, but said the element needed to be kept in the CIP so it could be addressed. Fountaine said the CIP was just a plan and the budget was an estimate. He urged council to keep the element in the CIP to meet other deadlines for the project.

“If we reject this, we are really limited in terms of being able to move the project forward to meet the timelines that we have to replace a structurally unsound facility that has no life beyond 2028, based on the structural engineering analysis that was done previously. I would strongly encourage you to move forward with this project and make a decision in 2025 because we actually have hard numbers and real projects to discuss, as opposed to a project that is listed here as simply replacing the existing parking lot,” Fountaine said. The council ultimately maintained that position in the CIP.

The next meeting of the district council is scheduled for August 12, at 7:00 p.m.