Owners of University Terrace Apartments have asked all residents not to use any of the shared balcony areas similar to the one where a Penn State student fell two weeks ago after the railing he was leaning against gave way.

A memo issued by The Apartment Store, which owns University Terrace Apartments, 825 Bellaire Ave., where Penn State junior Cory Wincek, 20, fell on March 31, stated the company will be installing a completely new railing system.

Wincek, who fell about 15 feet to a paved parking lot below the second-floor catwalk he was standing on, has been upgraded from serious to stable condition at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.

The letter -- which was dated Tuesday, April 11 -- told residents that additional railing boards on the catwalks are currently being installed.

The catwalks, which are located on the second floor in the back of each separate University Terrace complex, are outside walkways that allow residents to walk from apartment to apartment within the complex.

The boards are a temporary measure until the new railing system is installed, the letter said.

"It may take months for that to happen due to the various steps that have to occur before the end product materializes," the memo stated. "Until such time that the new railings are installed, we ask that you do not use the back catwalks areas except in case of emergency."

Calls to University Terrace Property Manager Joyce White, who signed the letter, were redirected to Keystone Real Estate, where no one was available for comment.

Tim Knisley, Centre Region Code Administration senior fire and housing inspector, said he is in the process of investigating why the railing gave way.

Knisley said he conducted a preliminary investigation and is awaiting an engineer's review of the railing.

"We've had conversation back and forth, but I haven't received anything concrete yet," Knisley said.

Wincek was airlifted to Geisinger Medical Center the night of the incident and was listed in critical condition for several days. The incident occurred at his apartment during a small gathering; there were three or four other people on the balcony at the time, friends said.