A planned major redevelopment of Toftrees Golf Resort got a boost this week in the form of a $2.5 million state grant.
The grant from Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program will support selected demolition, infrastructure improvements, utilities, landscaping, lighting and other site work at the 50-year-old property in Patton Township.
“This project holds the potential of bringing tens of millions of dollars in new investments to the area, millions in new wages for local workers, and millions in tourism dollars into the local economy,” state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte, said in a statement on Friday. “I look forward to seeing how this grant will support this project and all the benefits it will bring to the local community.”
The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program provides funding for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects. Because the program requires the backing of a government authority, Patton Township’s Board of Supervisors sponsored the grant application, but the resort’s owners, State College Friends, is responsible for matching funds.
Supervisors received overviews of the redevelopment plans at meetings in August and September.
The estimated $50 million project is expected to expand and upgrade the resort’s facilities, including plans for 154 hotel rooms, an increase over the current 102, a conference center and expanded meeting space, along with a 4,000-square-foot luxury spa, restaurant, private dining room, new clubhouse for the golf course and event lawns.
Bob Poole, managing member of State College Friends, told the supervisors that “the plan here is to do a really high-end resort,” that would be part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection of independently-operated luxury hotels.
According to the summary, the project would create an additional 137 permanent full-time jobs representing $7.3 million in annual employee wage compensation, as well as 399 temporary construction jobs generating $26.4 million in labor income.
“This is a major redevelopment initiative that will create many jobs throughout the construction processes,” state Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, said. “The redevelopment of the 50-year-old Toftrees will not only create economic development but will help our region continue to attract tourists and the dollars they bring to our towns and small businesses.”
State College Friends also has requested two zoning changes to facilitate the redevelopment.
One would increase the allowable building height at the resort property only from 50 to 75 feet. Poole said the building up instead of out would allow for better stormwater management, increased green space and a more efficient experience within the hotel for guests and staff.
The other zoning change is for an increase in the number of permitted residential units within the Toftrees Planned Community to allow for the construction of 50 homes within the 140,000-square-foot resort.
The 50 homes would be constructed separately from the hotel but within the resort property. The resort does not currently have residential units, but Poole said they are planned to help reduce the overall cost of the redevelopment.
Residents of the homes would use resort services and amenities, Poole said. He added that, from what he has observed in the current market, he believes the buyers would likely purchase them as second homes, although they could be used as permanent residences.
The number of residential units in the overall Toftrees Planned Community — which contains a number of housing developments — is capped at 4,690. State College Friends requested the addition of 50 units because the land in the Toftrees area surrounding the resort is separately owned by three different ownership groups, none of whom are willing to give units toward a development in which they don’t have an interest.
Supervisors referred those zoning requests to planning commission for review and recommendation.
The township also has sponsored another state grant application related to the project.
A $2.159 million Multimodal Transportation Fund grant would help construct what Township Manager Doug Erickson called “long needed upgrades to Toftrees Avenue.”
Those improvements include rebuilding and widening Toftrees Avenue, dedicated 5-foot wide bike lanes parallel to both sides of the road, new 5-foot concrete sidewalk on south side of Toftrees Avenue, ADA pedestrian ramps, rail trail improvements, stormwater management upgrades, new streetlights, landscaping and a new access drive to the resort to accommodate the expansion.
