With the recent purchase of the former Danks building on the corner of Allen Street and Beaver Avenue, expansion of downtown to include big businesses such as department stores can only bring good things to the area.

College and Beaver avenues are currently sprinkled with unique, specialty shops that make State College a town Penn State alumni and other visitors want to come and enjoy. With Beaver Stadium expanding and therefore bringing more people to the area for football weekends, more stores downtown are necessary.

If big department stores are added, the small local businesses will not be affected because the merchandise the two sell are different. The stores currently in the area have developed a following to their stores and have loyal clients. Patrons will still shop at the local shops for all the unusual and unparalleled items they sell. Conversely, students and area residents alike will go to the department stores for the items they carry.

Nine months out of the year, downtown State College has a virtually captive audience in the Penn State campus. This 40,000-plus client base has the potential to make almost any addition to the downtown area a profitable one. Population in this area is also growing, which makes the demand for department stores greater.

However, with the increase of people to the area, whether for shopping at the department stores or attending football games, parking remains a viable concern for everyone. Without the new stores, parking in the State College borough is a problem. Before these stores are built, the issue of parking needs to be dealt with and solved by the area government.