The planned Perry Hall project at Erie includes renovations to existing space and the addition of 47,800 square feet to accommodate approximately 150 new beds in suites. The estimated budget for the overall project is $10 million.

The firm of Noelker and Hull Associates, Inc. of Chambersburg was approved as design architect for the work, which is expected to begin in spring 2003 for completion in summer 2004. Noelker and Hull’s experience with residence halls includes earlier projects at Shippensburg University and at Penn State Altoona, where it designed Cedar Hall.

In its present design, the co-ed Perry Hall houses 200 students in two-bed rooms. It is one of eight residence halls on the campus, which also features nine student apartment buildings. Nearly 1,500 of the campus’s more than 3,700 students live on campus.

The sketch/preliminary plans for the Franco Building addition at Penn State Berks, in Reading, focus on alleviating immediate needs for classroom and faculty office space at the campus. While providing for the building’s program requirements, the plans will also enhance its exterior and its adjacent outdoor civic space in order to improve the overall campus landscape.

The addition will be located on the southern side of the existing building, which houses faculty offices, classrooms and offices for the Registrar and Bursar. It will provide three new classrooms, 12 faculty offices and new tutoring and testing spaces for the Learning Center. The firm of Atkin Olshin Lawson-Bell of Philadelphia is designing the $2.5 million project, and construction is estimated to begin next spring for completion in winter 2002.

For Penn State Beaver, in Monaca, the trustees approved final plans for a new 22,000-square-foot Administration Building and authorized the University to obtain bids and award contracts for its construction. The new facility will replace the current Administration Building, formerly the Beaver County Sanatorium, which will be demolished to make way for enhanced campus green space. The new building will be located in the southwestern corner of the campus green, on the west side of the existing Study-Learning Center, the campus’s union building.

The new facility will provide students with one-stop shopping to complete their registration process by locating the Registrar, Division of Undergraduate Studies, Continuing Education and the Bursar offices in one facility. It will also house offices for the Campus Executive Officer, University Relations, Academic Affairs, Business Services, Health Services, faculty offices and a Learning Center. The $5.5 million project is designed by Perkins Eastman Architects of Pittsburgh. Construction is slated to begin in March 2002 for completion in spring 2003.

**gwc**

Contact:  Gary Cramer (814) 865-7517 or gwc104@psu.edu