Plans for a new Hilton hotel along Benner Pike near Bellefonte also include construction of a retail building, according to a presentation to the Centre County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
A final land development plan submitted by project engineer PennTerra shows a four-story, 98-room Tru By Hilton hotel along with a 12,000-square-foot retail building across from Bellefonte Lanes in Benner Township, county subdivision and land development planner Christopher Schnure said.
The hotel project was previously announced by State College-based hotelier Hospitality Asset Management Company (HAMCO) in June. The second building for retail will include five units, Schnure said. Potential tenants have not been named.
The planned buildings are located on a parcel owned by G.M. McCrossin Inc. The contractor’s executive offices will remain at the front of the property with the hotel and retail buildings set further back.
Plans include improvements to the existing driveway for access.
Commissioners unanimously agreed to place on next week’s consent agenda a three-party memorandum of understanding for the developer to reimburse the township for engineering costs. The MOU does not constitute land development plan approval.
“It’s just one of the numerous components as part of the overall land development process,” Schnure said.
Hilton debuted Tru in 2016 as an affordable hotel brand and today it has more than 250 franchise locations. The Benner Pike hotel would have “complimentary breakfast, active lobby spaces and an expanded fitness center,” according to HAMCO.
HAMCO Chief Operating Officer Edward Tubbs said in June that if all went according to plan, construction would begin in the spring of 2024 with hopes of opening in the second quarter of 2025.
“I’m excited to see another place to stay. I’m sure everyone who is coming here for graduations and football games and to visit their kids on Penn State family weekends will appreciate having another option,” Board of Commissioners Vice Chair Amber Concepcion said on Tuesday.
“We have yet additional development happening in Bellefonte especially along the Benner Pike, and another hotel in Centre County,” added Board Chair Mark Higgins.
Tubbs cited the expansion of I-99 with the upcoming high-speed interchange at Bellefonte as well as the growth of business development along the Benner Pike corridor as reasons for the new hotel’s location.
In addition to the new Giant supermarket that opened near the planned hotel location in 2021, McDonald’s has plans for a new location at the Paradise Shopping Center, which has at least one other pad available for development. Convenience store chain Wawa also also plans to build its first Centre County location on Benner Pike, near Dunkin’ and across from Sheetz.
Planning also continues for a massive “fulfillment center warehouse” for a yet-to-be named business on Penn Tech Drive in the Benner Commerce Park.
At the Amberleigh Lane and Benner Pike intersection, property owner SAI 21 LLC plans to develop an unnamed 107-room hotel, and the subdivided property will also include a car wash.
