State College Borough will acquire a former fraternity house with an eye on its future use for human services and housing purposes.
The State College Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday approved an agreement of sale to purchase 406 S. Pugh St., the former Alpha Chi Sigma house, for $1.65 million.
Closing is scheduled for Monday, Planning Director Ed LeClear said.
The borough intends to issue requests for proposals to housing and human services agencies for potential uses of both the South Pugh Street property and 515 W. Beaver Ave., which is owned by the borough and was the home to House of Care until the nonprofit decided to close in May.
After proposals are received, the borough will go through a process to determine specific uses, Assistant to the Borough Manager Douglas Shontz said.
The purchase of 406 S. Pugh St. is funded by a pass-through loan to the Redevelopment Authority from the borough. In May, borough council approved borrowing $10 million to refinance existing bond debt, construct parking facility improvements and acquire what was at the time an unnamed building.
The Redevelopment Authority is the purchasing entity because of its powers to buy, sell and lease properties, giving it flexibility to move forward after a proposal is decided upon.
