The Durbin Companies are proposing to replace some of its student housing units at PennView Suites in Wehnwood with a tax-credit-funded, $10 million to $12 million cluster of rent-subsidized homes for seniors.

The demolition of units that now accommodate 28 students, plus the razing of some single homes near PennView, would provide about 14 acres for the proposed project, which would create 40 units for seniors in its first phase, according to Brian Durbin, a partner in the firms.

A potential second phase would create a similar number of senior housing units, Durbin said.

The proposal depends on the companies obtaining tax credits through a program that the government may introduce in the fall, according to project partner Reynolds Baldwin, who spoke at a recent Logan Township Planning Commission meeting.

The proposal will also depend on the township adopting a zoning ordinance amendment to allow senior housing developments in R-1 residential zones as a conditional use under “exceptions and special provisions.”

The Planning Commission reviewed such a proposed amendment this week, as required by state zoning law, then recommended it be adopted by township’s supervisors.

The Durbins asked the supervisors last fall to consider the amendment, according to Planning Director Cassandra Schmick.

The amendment requires that senior developments be on at least five acres, be single-story, serve only residents 55 and older, mesh with surrounding neighborhoods, be served by public water and sewer, have no deleterious effect on water and sewer services or emergency services or road capacity; cause no significant traffic congestion and include sidewalks and at least two off-street parking spaces per unit.

The senior developments may include a community building that must be for exclusive use of the development’s residents.

The Durbins are planning for the units to be connected side-to-side in blocks of four to six, with an address on Pennway Avenue, not far from Grandview Road, according to Durbin.

There would be a community center, Baldwin said.

An Amtran bus stop is nearby, Baldwin said.

A consultant hired by the Durbins determined there’s a need for such housing, Durbin said.

The project wouldn’t compete with Jeff Long’s high-end senior housing developments — the Graystones, according to Durbin.

“(He) obviously has a niche,” Durbin said.

The type of development the Durbins are planning is somewhat similar to the senior housing project in the former Keith Junior High School building in Fairview, Durbin agreed.

In appearance, the Durbin project might resemble the development on Ninth Avenue across from Station Medical Center, he conceded.

There are projects similar to what the companies envision in the State College area “that have been received well,” Durbin said.

The Durbins will develop a full plan during the summer, Baldwin said.

The development would operate according to guidelines established by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, Durbin said.

There would be regular agency inspections, he said.

A private “entity” of the Durbin companies would own, operate and manage the development.

The tax-credit program requires that the developers retain the project for 11 or 12 years, and that the guidelines under which the project operates remain in place after that, Durbin said.

The odds of receiving the tax credit funding seem good, given the need that the consultant established, Durbin said.

The funding agency will evaluate proposals on a point system.

Companies that receive tax credits can use them to reduce their own tax liability or can sell them to receive a high percentage of their face value.

If the project is funded in the fall allocation round, construction could begin in June 2023, Durbin said.

The work would take eight to 12 months, he predicted.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.