Despite a significant increase in State College's student population, some members of the State College Borough Council said they don't think more student housing is necessary downtown.

Earlier this month, the council deterred the first step of creating a new student apartment building at 256 E. Beaver Ave., the former home of Kappa Sigma fraternity.

"The community has made it clear that no more student apartments are needed for downtown," Borough Council President Cathy Dauler said.

Borough officials were presented with the suggestion to tear down the dilapidated fraternity building, located above Canyon Pizza, and install a 250-resident high-rise tower. HFL Corp. asked the council to change the zoning designation of the area from residential to commercial-incentive to allow for the creation of an apartment building, borough manager Tom Fountaine said.

The property, which is currently in a residential zoning area, would have to be rezoned if HFL Corp. wants to build more than four units there, Planning Director Carl Hess said.

If the area is rezoned, it will allow up to 48 units on the property, he said.

Although the council voted not to send HFL Corp.'s specific proposal to the Planning Commission, they did vote to have the entire block's zoning designation reviewed, Fountaine said.

A representative of HFL Corp. could not be reached for comment by press time yesterday.

Dauler said she would like to see office space or mixed-use buildings in the area because of high demand for that type of space.

She added that if student apartments were put in the lot, it would never be able to be used for anything else in the future because of the design structure of apartments.

"They were asking to change zoning to facilitate them with their project, which many people in the community don't want," Dauler said.

The complex that HFL Corp. wants to build would be a carbon copy of the recently constructed Centre Court, which concerned many council officials that it would conflict with the area's atmosphere.

"There is a residential neighborhood right behind the house and three frats right next to it," Tom Daubert, borough council member, said about the proposed apartment building. "It's very tall and just wouldn't fit."

Borough officials said the rising student population shouldn't hurt downtown living because of housing potential across Beaver Avenue and out of town.

Though farther away, out-of-town apartments are becoming more popular, Goreham said.

"With the construction of nicer apartments out of town, students have decided to go out of town," Goreham said. "Although everybody likes to [be] right across the street from campus, if enrollment stabilizes, there won't be a housing shortage."

Last fall, Penn State accepted more than 8,300 freshmen -- the largest class seen at University Park. Since then, on-campus housing has become increasingly difficult for students to attain.

"I'm hoping the record-size freshman class is a one-time thing and won't be a trend," Dauler said, adding that the university has told the council that it does not want the student body to continue to increase.

As for additional downtown living options, a new apartment complex replacing Balfurd Cleaners, formerly at 320 W. Beaver Ave., is in the works. With a foundation in place, the building is expected to be completed by next January.