Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence

Penn State Altoona

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CLIENT GOALS

The University needed additional classroom space. Due to steady enrollment growth, a Downtown campus had been established in 1999 to extend the original campus. After acquiring a shuttered former retail clothing shop, the Business School, in conjunction with a local business leader, wished to create a facility to develop entrepreneurship and foster the incubation of successful ventures between Penn State Altoona and the surrounding community. Advancing the existing cooperative relationship between the City of Altoona and the University, as well as addressing the existing entrance and adjacent vacant plot were critical.

SOLUTIONS

A complete gut of the building and subsequent configuration for the Center was accomplished by establishing state-of-the-art educational facilities for the Business School and Entrepreneurship Program. Program elements include faculty offices, classrooms, student lounges, and a trading room with full access to Bloomberg and live stock trading. The building program also includes a professional trade show area for conferencing. A new pocket park, Rossman Park, was developed on the adjacent vacant plot incorporating a new main entrance into the building.

RESULTS

The Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence is an official academic center of Penn State Altoona. The Center supports academic research, education, and community engagement in entrepreneurship. The Center strives to advance the practice of entrepreneurship to stimulate economic growth and development through new company formation, small business counseling, and improved competitive performance of entrepreneurial ventures. Rossman Park gives back to the City of Altoona a precious green space in the downtown core.

“The new building and open space improvements are a vital element of Penn State Altoona's expansion in the city and a source of momentum for the ongoing revitalization. The park's urban tolerant native plantings and site furnishings appropriately respond to the character of the site with special consideration for comfort, circulation control, pedestrian safety, and user enjoyment. WMF's multidisciplinary approach was essential to designing the amenities that are sustaining and expanding the community benefits of the Sheetz Center and Rossman Park. Undoubtedly, the project has been a magnificent addition to our downtown.”

Patrick J. Miller
Executive Vice President

Altoona Blair County Development Corporation