Penn State New Kensington supports proposal for student housing in downtown New Ken
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A New Kensington business owner wants to build housing for college students and others on Fifth Avenue.
Jake Lydick, owner of Eye-bot Aerial Solutions and Patriot Technology Holdings, has a plan to build residential units in existing buildings at 713, 715 and 717 Fifth Ave.
The addresses are among nine parcels Patriot Technology Holdings owns in that area between Seventh and Eighth streets, according to Westmoreland County records.
They would be for Penn State New Kensington students and “working professionals alike,” Lydick says in a summary of the project submitted to the city’s planning commission.
Two narrow empty lots on either side would be used for private outdoor green areas. Parking would be provided on an adjoining, and currently vacant, property.
The planning commission was scheduled to consider a special exception use for the development when it meets Tuesday at city hall. However, on Friday, Lydick’s application was said to be incomplete, according to the commission’s agenda for that meeting.
City Engineer Tony Males said the plans submitted with the application did not show the layout of the proposed apartment units and there was no information regarding the number or size of units.
Lydick is expected to provide the additional information and resubmit for the commission’s meeting at 7 p.m. July 11.
The commission will make a recommendation to the city’s zoning hearing board, which will have the final say, Males said.
If the special exception use is approved, the planning commission also would review a final site plan, while city council would review it for compliance with the city’s design guidelines, Males said.
Lydick could not be reached for comment.
The summary and plans submitted to the city do not reveal the number of residential units. According to the summary, there is 6,000 square feet of space on the main floor.
Penn State New Kensington Chancellor Kevin Snider supports Lydick’s plan to build housing in downtown New Kensington.
In a letter addressed to Lydick and included in the submission to the city, Snider said the campus has been successful in recruiting students from outside its commuting area to help offset local enrollment declines.
“Our numbers of out-of-state and outside of commuting distance within our service area have grown to the point that the apartments next to us are at capacity, and, given the market, options are limited,” Snider wrote.
Snider said the campus has lost a few students because of the lack of student housing in the area. While he could not guarantee Lydick a number, he wrote that the campus was scrambling last summer to find alternative housing arrangements for almost 30 students.
Further, Snider said they intend to strengthen the link between the campus in Upper Burrell and the Digital Foundry and Corner LaunchBox, which are Penn State facilities in the same area on Fifth Avenue in New Kensington.
“Creating safe places for our students to live to take advantage of these assets and add to foot traffic downtown has always been part of our plan,” he wrote.
According to Snider, a scholarship program around the work in New Kensington should increase the number of nonresidents coming to Penn State New Kensington, and recruiting athletes from out of state also is resulting in more noncommuting students.
“We are anticipating that, within the next several years, we will need between 50 and 60 additional beds to accommodate these populations,” Snider wrote.
New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said he is looking forward to seeing Lydick’s plans as they develop and are reviewed by the city’s planning commission.
“I think the concept could be a great addition to the downtown and would be in the perfect spot for those who are in programs at the Digital Foundry, the Corner (LaunchBox) and the colleges,” Guzzo said. Westmoreland County Community College also has a branch campus downtown.
Jon Nealer, manager of Fox’s Pizza Den, said he would welcome having housing for college students directly across the street from his storefront.
“It’s nice to see everything, in general, getting better around here,” he said. “I’m liking a lot of the things going on down here.”
In additional to residential space, the project summary says a 5,500-square-foot building between the residences and parking lot could be used as a “maker space” for students and those using the Digital Foundry and the Corner LaunchBox. It would give them a place to test their businesses “in a flexible, easily configurable, open space.”