College Township this week dropped a lawsuit against a student housing developer after the company voluntarily paid more than $285,000 it owed as part of a land development plan approval.
The township filed the lawsuit in early April against 1275 State College PA Properties I K6 LLC, which is associated with developer Aspen Heights Partners. Township solicitor Louis Glantz previously warned the company in a letter that it was “seriously overdue” on payments primarily related to transportation infrastructure costs that were required as part of the land development plan for the Aspen State College apartments at 350 Squirrel Drive.
The developer, Glantz wrote in the civil complaint, had “been in violation of their land development plan approval every day of 2024,” by failing to make the required payments.
Glantz filed on Thursday to have the case marked as settled and discontinued. At College Township Council’s regular meeting later the same day, township Manager Adam Brumbaugh said the developer had made payment in full.
“I’m pleased to report that, through the efforts of the township and the township solicitor, yesterday I took receipt of a check in the full amount that was owed to College Township,” Brumbaugh said. “It has been deposited and the outstanding balances that were owed have been satisfied.”
The developer was required to pay for several improvements as part of its land development plan approval in 2021. They included:
• $100,000 toward the future addition of a right turn lane from Squirrel Drive onto East College Avenue;
• $75,000 toward a planned shared-use path adjacent to College Avenue from near Puddintown Road to the Penn State campus;
• $35,000 for grading work at the intersection of Squirrel Drive and College Avenue; and
• $59,531.66 for required paving that was completed last year by the township through a contractor.
Another $4,200 was required for the developer’s share of the workforce housing administration fee.
The township also collected more than $13,000 in attorney fees.
“Very pleased to bring this to a conclusion and we want to thank the solicitor and the staff for the work they’ve done to get us to this point,” Brumbaugh said.
Aspen Heights’ land development approval in May 2021 came after months of discussions, reviews and negotiated conditions. Construction began in the fall of 2021 and the complex opened in 2023.
The development on the former Hilltop Mobile Home Park site includes two four-story buildings with 262 apartments ranging from one- to five-bedroom units for a total of 651 beds.
It was one of two new student housing complexes Aspen Heights opened in the Centre Region in 2023. The other is the six-story Haus, 900 W. College Ave., which includes 96 apartments with a mix of two- and three-bedroom units for a total of 268 beds.
