Clearwater Conservancy’s plans for a new Community Conservation Center in Houserville recently took a step forward.
College Township Council on Thursday granted conditional approval to a land development plan for the project on a 10-acre property along Spring Creek at 1601 Houserville Road.
The State College-based nonprofit dedicated to natural resource preservation and restoration plans to renovate and expand an existing barn to create a 12,000-square-foot building that will serve as a community outreach facility, conservation hub and education center, along with providing offices for ClearWater staff. The project will restore and conserve streamside and agricultural land.
Indoor facilities will provide office space, equipment storage and gathering and training areas, while outdoor demonstration areas will showcase best practices for restoring, conserving and stewarding land. The center will offer year-round space for ClearWater staff to collaborate with the community.
“ClearWater is delighted about the opportunities this center will create for volunteers, local businesses, outdoor enthusiasts, partners and future generations of residents in the region,” Executive Director Elizabeth Crisfield said in a November. “The Community Conservation Center will provide a space for the ClearWater community to meet, work, collaborate and inspire one another in the shared aspiration of a healthy and thriving community and environment, starting in the Spring Creek Watershed.”
Ancillary work in the land development plan include an asphalt and concrete driveway with 35 spaces, concrete sidewalks, lighting and landscaping, with 32 new trees, 258 shrubs and numerous perennials, grass and other ground coverings.
The property consists of three parcels, the largest of which is the former Rockenbeck property acquired by the conservancy in 2022 to permanently conserve the historic farmland and streambank.
In late 2023, ClearWater launched the public phase of a $10 million fundraising campaign for the project. In addition to donations, the project received $2 million in federal funds and more than $1 million in state grants last fall.
According to a November news release from ClearWater, construction is expected to begin this year and be completed in 2026.
Before the land development plan can be recorded and construction can begin, one of the conditions is that the conservancy must first receive approval for a development of regional impact application to expand the Regional Growth Boundary (RGB) and Sewer Service Area (SSA).
Among the total 10 acres of the property, 4.66 acres sits just outside the RGB, and ClearWater plans to extend public sewer lines from connections across Houserville Road. The conservancy is currently going through an abbreviated RGB expansion application that does not require approval by the Centre Region Council of Governments General Forum.
Under the 2023 Centre Region RGB and SSA implementation agreement, each Centre Region municipality can expand the boundary by up to 12 acres and 50 equivalent dwelling units (EDUs) over five years.
Such smaller expansions require review by Centre Regional Planning Agency and the Centre Regional Planning Commission before municipal approval, but do not have to go through the longer process involving General Forum approval.
ClearWater’s development of regional impact has been deemed complete by the Centre Regional Planning Agency and will soon be coming back to College Township Planning Commission and Council for review, township Principal Planner Lindsay Schoch said.
Two other projects proposed in College Township — both at Innovation Park — are also planning to go through the expedited RGB/SSA expansion process. PAM Health is looking to build a 42-bed inpatient physical rehabilitation hospital on five acres and Penn State is planning a new Applied Research Lab building on 1 to 2 acres.
If all three projects are approved for RGB/SSA expansion, College Township will have .34 acres and eight EDUs remaining available for boundary expansion without requiring General Forum approval through 2028. That would not preclude any future projects seeking expansion of the boundary, but they would be required to go through the longer process.
