Pending approval of the Penn State Board of Trustees on Friday, Penn State intends to buy 1.5 acres of land along North Atherton Street, though a university official in the finance and business office said there are no "immediate plans" for the land.
The land is currently occupied by a number of businesses, including Viet Thai Restaurant, 146 N. Atherton St., Alley Cat Music, 122 N. Atherton St., and Best Event Rental, 140 N. Atherton St.
All of those businesses now have a lease agreement with H.O. Smith & Sons, the owner of the property.
Dan Sieminski, Penn State's associate vice president for finance and business, said Penn State is not eyeing the property with bulldozers and wrecking balls.
The businesses would continue to exist, and Penn State, not H.O. Smith & Sons, "would be the landlord," Sieminski added.
"The university would be acquiring the land with the idea of some future, yet-to-be determined development," Sieminski said.
It was not immediately clear how much the university would pay for the land. Neither Sieminski nor Jim Smith, owner of H.O. Smith & Sons, would discuss how much money is involved in the negotiations.
If the trustees approve Penn State's purchase of the land, the university would have to abide by the lease agreements already in place between the businesses and H.O. Smith & Sons until those agreements expire, Smith said.
"If the lease goes until next March, the university can't terminate them until next March," Smith said.
"I'm sure the university is not ready to tear the buildings down and start construction."
The land acquisition will be voted on during the presentation of the trustees' Committee on Finance and Physical Plant, according to the agenda for Friday's meeting.
Office of Physical Plant spokesman Paul Ruskin could not be reached for comment by press time yesterday.
Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said he was not sure whether or not more information about the future of the land acquisition would be presented at Friday's meeting.
But he did speak favorably of the prospective purchase.
"It's an important piece of property," Mahon said. "It's a gateway onto that side of campus."
