Centre County Government

The Centre County Planning and Community Development Office has compiled the following information describing a variety of buildings and properties that qualify as "underutilized sites". These sites provide adaptive reuse opportunities and support the recycling of buildings for community revitalization and economic development.

An underutilized site is a property or building which is not used to its fullest economic potential. In some cases the sites are vacant; others are partially vacant.

Adaptive reuse is often described as the process of converting older buildings for economically viable new uses. A variety of repairs or alterations to an existing building are usually necessary to serve the contemporary use and bring it into building code compliance. Sometimes, these alterations preserve unique features of the property or building. Examples of adaptive reuse can be found here.

Older buildings have the advantage of location in areas already developed, often times in close proximity to town centers. Their reuse helps reduce suburban sprawl, builds on previously developed land rather than Greenfield tracts, takes advantage of existing infrastructure and avoids costly new public investments, and in some cases they are located along established routes served by rail and/or by the Centre Area Transportation Authority mass transit.

Most underutilized sites included in this inventory lie within reach of available utility and transportation infrastructure. Photos have been included as well as detailed site data: address and/or tax parcel number, owner's name and contact information, building and/or land specifications, available utilities, current and past uses, zoning, and adjacent land uses.