Proposed commercial park, housing and more: Shiloh Road corridor sees development boom

In recent years, Shiloh Road and the area surrounding it in College Township has become a hot spot for a number of land development projects — some large, some small.

Some of these projects will be completed by the end of 2024, while others could take several years to finish.

Several zoning code changes have had to take place for these projects to occur. According to College Township Assistant Manager Mike Bloom, this area was previously known for being stagnant when it came to new development.

In the coming years, Shiloh Road’s corridor — which spans from the Interstate 99 Shiloh Road exit to the road’s intersection with Benner Pike and includes the Dale Summit area — is expected to see projects such as a 45-acre residential development and multi-business commercial park take shape, but it’s taken a long time to get to this point.

Zoning code change expands options

Bloom, along with College Township’s Principle Planner Lindsay Schoch, described the Shiloh Road corridor as the “perfect area” for recent projects to take place.

But that wasn’t always the case. The area saw “slow and fragmented” growth for the past 20 years, College Township wrote in a press release last year, where officials asked for input on how to revitalize Dale Summit, which includes the area around the Nittany Mall.

Up until two years ago, College Township was left wondering what it could do with the Shiloh Road area, as it was “not reaching its full potential,” according to Bloom.

That’s when the township decided to launch a large transition from one type of zoning code format to another, in hopes that it could revitalize the area and bring in new businesses.

The zoning codes that the majority of the township used were almost entirely made up of traditional, euclidean zoning codes — a type of code that segregates subdivisions, allowing for only one kind of land usage per zone/subdivision.

“Times are changing and we’re no longer living in a world where the traditional, euclidean form of code works everywhere for us — different areas require different zoning codes,” Bloom said. “We started to look at different formats of zoning code, and with the help of our partners at DPZ CoDesign, we are now pivoting to form-based zoning codes.”

A main difference in that type of zoning is that it allows for, and encourages, mixed-used areas in parcels and subdivisions.

This means that each land development doesn’t have to be specifically designated toward one specific usage, and most importantly for College Township, the new form-based code areas in the township can include residential usages in their plans.

“One of the most important reasons why we’re making the switch from euclidean to form-based codes is because we want to include more residential-use plans in the projects to come here,” Schoch said. “The Shiloh Road area is the perfect area for this new code too — we’d like to foster an area where people of all kinds can live, no matter how much you make, and the switch to form-based code is crucial in that process.”

Because of Shiloh Road’s close proximity to Penn State and State College, College Township thinks it can be a place for young professionals to live, work and enjoy their free time, Schoch said — and the zoning format switch is crucial to fulfilling that vision.

One example of how the township plans to do this involves the Dale Summit redevelopment plan, which includes a proposed 45-acres residential development , located at the end of Point Pleasant Drive, near the Pleasant Pointe Apartments.

This proposed development would be built on land that currently utilizes the form-based zoning code format, and will be designed to merge three major components of living together — housing, work and recreation — all in one complex.

This development proposes townhomes and apartments available to for rent, townhomes available for purchase, several outdoor recreation areas and space for commercial developments.

“While it’s still in the early phases, the Dale Summit project is a really good example for how we’re trying to integrate all facets of people’s lives into one community-based area,” Schoch said. “There, we’re going to provide people with different varieties of housing, places to work and places to play — all in the same place.”

While there are still areas in College Township that are using euclidean zoning codes, Bloom hopes to see the majority of the township transition to form-based codes in 18 to 24 months.

“Form-based coding provides the developers some more flexibility with what they can submit, therefore allowing the township to get more of the mixed-use, community-based land developments that we want to see come into that area,” Bloom said. “Obviously the 18- to 24-month transitional period is just a projection too — that’s when we expect the process to be complete, but we’re going to take all the time we need to make sure we get things right, so it could take longer.”

The ongoing projects

In addition to the Dale Summit redevelopment plan, there are several other projects in the works along the Shiloh Road corridor.

The project that’s the most likely to be completed first is the Jersey Mike’s , located at 430 Shiloh Road. This will be the third Jersey Mike’s location in State College and the surrounding areas, and construction is set to finish up by the end of the year.

Another project going on outside of College Township, but still on Shiloh Road, is the Game Commission’s planned $20 million northcentral regional office , which has drawn pushback from some residents due to its proximity to the Spring Creek Canyon.

The project is still in the design phase, but Austin Kieffer, the Northcentral Region’s habitat planning and development chief, expects that phase to conclude by the end of 2024, with the project going out for bid at the start of 2025.

From there, construction would commence in mid-2025, and is expected to last 16 to 18 more months until the office’s completion in late 2026 or early 2027.

The Shiloh Road Commercial Park has also been the subject of conversation for upcoming projects in College Township.

While it’s still in its early stages, the commercial park — located near the intersection of Shiloh and East Trout roads — would be made of up seven lots, all solely dedicated to bringing in more commercial businesses to the area, including a 115-room Home2 Suites hotel by Hilton.

“On the third lot of the commercial park, we’re going to be getting a Home2 Suites hotel,” Bloom said. “It will be the first development on this property. There are other things that we’d like to see come into that commercial park as well, but because no other plans have been submitted yet, we can’t talk much about them.”

While the township can’t really control what land development plans get submitted for the lots, Schoch hopes to see more entertainment-centered businesses come to that area.

“As a part of the Dale Summit area plan, we had a market analysis prepared for us that holds a lot of really good information for what we would like to see get built there,” Schoch said. “The recommendation that the analysis gave us is that the whole theme of the area should be entertainment-based. That’s what the area has been missing for almost all demographics of people.”

Also in the Dale Summit area, a proposed mini-casino in the Nittany Mall has been stuck in legal limbo. In January 2023, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted unanimously to approve the license for the about $130 million project, but it cannot be issued until all appeals are resolved.

Residents encouraged to provide input

Because a lot of the new development projects are still in the earliest of phases, College Township has urged residents to reach out to the municipality to provide their input for what they’d like to see come in along Shiloh Road, as well as other places in the township.

“One of the most important things that we’re looking to take into consideration with the Dale Summit project, the Shiloh Road Commercial Park and any other projects is the input of current residents,” Bloom said. “We strongly urge anyone and everyone to come to our township and planning commission meetings and to make your voices heard before these projects get too far down the line to altar.”

The township is also willing to hear all suggestions provided given through email, phone number or in-person visitation during township office hours.

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