An architect's proposal for a high-end hotel to be built on College Avenue could possibly eliminate student favorites such as Sharkies Bar and Yogurt Express in favor of what he called "nonstudent activities."

"We want to bring non-student activities back to this end of town because of its proximity to the university -- having more nonstudents come back in town will help all businesses," architect Ed Olsen said.

At Thursday's State College Planning Commission meeting, Olsen presented plans for the hotel that would be located on College Avenue between Sowers and Garner streets. The plan projects a completion date for early 2011; however, issues such as zoning restrictions would still need to be settled before the project is given the go-ahead.

Plans call for the hotel to encompass the entire block. McLanahan's, 414 E. College Ave. and Baby's Burgers and Shakes, 131 S. Garner St. will remain.

The hotel plans would eliminate The Cell Block, 420 E. College Ave., as well as other establishments in the area such as Yogurt Express, 426 E. College

Ave. and Big Bowl Noodle House, 428 E. College Ave.

The block's current businesses would need to relocate to stay in business, Olsen said.

Olsen is representing local businessman Charles Herlocher, who owns the existing properties that would become the base of the hotel.

Herlocher is working with businesses to relocate them to his other properties or place them in the new building, Olsen said.

"The Cell Block is a temporary opportunity for them to try out their venue -- I hope they find another location," Olsen said.

Sharkies Bar and Thrifty Bottle Shop, 110 Sowers St., would be relocated to another one of Herlocher's properties, he said.

The nine-story hotel would offer shopping, lodging and dining options, with plans to break ground in 2009, Olsen said.

The second to sixth floors would be reserved for hotel rooms and the remaining floors would either be residential condos or additional hotel rooms, he said.

"They would be higher-end condos because the intent of the whole project is to bring in nonstudent type of activities, which this end of town seems to lack," Olsen said.

Alumni could purchase a condo for three months and, for the remainder of the year, the hotel could use the condo as a presidential suite, Olsen said.

"It's the kind of project we want to try to encourage. It's nice to see additional hotel rooms to bring people and customers to the downtown, " Hess said.

Borough Council member Elizabeth Goreham said she hopes the building will offer workforce and student housing.

"It would be nice to have a much more civilized student life possibility," she said. "We need to make apartments available for people who work in town and on campus -- I think it is the way to attract more professionals and have a more mixed residential group downtown."

The first floor of the hotel would be an open-air commercial mall, Olsen said.

Hess and other planning commission members said they are excited about the presence of additional commercial venues downtown.

"In general, the more ground-level retail there is, the better it is for health of downtown," Hess said.

To handle the additional commercial presence downtown, there would be three levels of underground parking below the hotel, Olsen said.

The final level would be equipped with an upscale restaurant and an outdoor rooftop garden, Olsen said.

The venue would likely attract more traffic, but College Avenue and Beaver Avenue are equipped to handle it, Hess said.

"There will be a traffic impact study done as part of the project, which will allow us to identify any problems," he said.

The entrance to the property would be from the rear and should allow a safe traffic flow, Hess said.

Goreham explained that the hotel is in the very early stages of discussion, and it will require additional discussion before it is brought to the borough council.

"This is just a concept, not a plan, so we would need to discuss changes in zoning," she said. "I hope we keep working towards this, and I am hoping people who live there will like the idea," she said.