Penn State Intercom......February 6, 2003

Senate learns more
about Circleville Farm

In the first meeting of 2003 for the Penn State Faculty Senate, it was University business carried over from 2002 that held the highest interest among most attending senators.

The final of five informational reports presented to the Senate on Jan. 28 dealt with the University's proposed sale of Circleville Farm, a 155-acre parcel in Ferguson Township near the University Park campus.

The parcel, acquired by Penn State more than 30 years ago, was once at the heart of a largely rural area and was used by the College of Agricultural Sciences. Today, the property is bordered on three sides by residential developments and on the fourth side by property that is zoned light industrial. The new western inner-loop, a 100-foot traffic right-of-way currently under construction on the far eastern portion of the property, further diminishes any practical usability of Circleville Farm by the University.

According to Dan Sieminski, assistant vice president for finance and business, Penn State can obtain two to three acres of open land for every acre of Circleville property -- which would allow the University to preserve more than 450 acres of open space for agricultural use. Such land would likely be contiguous to the more than 2,000 acres of University lands acquired near the University Park Airport.

The College of Agricultural Sciences, which currently uses these properties, supports this approach and planned sale.

In an effort to determine if the Circleville property could be developed in a responsible manner, the University charged the Hamer Center for Community Design Assistance with developing a responsible land-use plan for the site. The result was a proposal that preserved the agricultural character of the parcel by creating 4.2 miles of trails and maintaining 50 percent of the parcel's open space (77.5 acres) under public ownership. However, Ferguson Township rejected this development model.

The University did move forward with a request for proposal (RFP) process last September, but took the sale off the table after receiving feedback that the RFP process lacked a sufficient time frame. Any potential buyer would have to demonstrate prior success in property re-zoning and be willing to work with the University and local government in developing a land-use plan.

A new RFP process will begin in late March. Sieminski expects to bring a recommendation for sale of the property to the Board of Trustees at its November 2003 meeting.

Other procedural reports to the Senate included a presentation on reserved student spaces at University Park, a faculty census update, a report on fall 2002 campus visits by senators and a photo presentation on the various University Park construction projects. No advisory or legislative actions were taken at the meeting.

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