Second Benner Pike hotel breaks ground in less than a month. ‘Renaissance of Bellefonte’
The IHG Hotels and Resorts company broke ground Friday on its new 52,015 square-foot, dual-brand hotel, making it the second hotel chain to break ground along the Benner Pike this month.
This new hotel, a split between mid-scale IHG hotel brands Avid and Candlewood Suites, will join Tru by Hilton, which broke ground June 11 along a corridor that has seen an influx of development in recent years.
The hotel will include 107 rooms between the two brands, with one side hosting Avid Hotels, which focuses on shorter-term stays, and Candlewood Suites, a hotel more geared toward longer stays, though rooms are available for shorter stays.
The building will sit at the corner of Amberleigh Lane and Benner Pike, located directly across from Sharer’s Automotive.
The Tru by Hilton that’s also being built along Benner Pike — across from the Bellefonte Lanes — will have 97 new hotel rooms. Together, these two hotels will bring 204 new hotel rooms to the Benner Pike corridor.
Centre County Commissioner Amber Concepcion said the new hotel will be a great addition for an already-bustling area.
“Tourism in Happy Valley is on the rise and the Bellefonte area particularly plays a large role in that growth,” Concepcion said. “This hotel will add to our county’s ability to host visitors to explore the many events, restaurants and attractions in our region.”
These two hotels being developed so close to each other is indicative of an developmentally-thriving county, according to Centre County Commissioner Mark Higgins, who’s also looking forward to more lodging opportunities coming to the area in the future.
“The renaissance of Bellefonte is fully underway and with that comes the construction of new hotel and lodging options in the area,” Higgins said. “This hotel and the Tru by Hilton hotel are both really great projects that I’m really excited for, and I think that the progress we’re making here along Benner Pike is really great for both the Bellefonte area and the county as a whole.”
There’s also the Bellefonte Waterfront Project, a boutique hotel with a parking garage and commercial/retail space along Spring Creek in downtown Bellefonte that’s been in the works for years and has faced numerous delays.
“The waterfront project is a big one on our radar,” Happy Valley Adventure Bureau President and CEO Fritz Smith said. “Bellefonte is on the rise and that project is going to bring even more hotel rooms, parking and activities to this town — a town that’s been on the up-and-up for years and is looking to host even more, larger events in the future.”
Another empty lot along Benner Pike, located adjacent to the Tru by Hilton site and the G. M. McCrossin building, is also ready for development and could potentially see hotel plans submitted in the coming years, Higgins said.
“That site has plenty of developers looking at it, with some of the plans being mentioned including hotels and lodging options,” Higgins said. “It’s going to be a slow process so I wouldn’t expect any plans to be submitted for that parcel for a while, but in the future, we could see a hotel come in there too — it’s early though so things are still very much up in the air.”
These two hotel groundbreakings are just two of many ongoing projects along Benner Pike. A new McDonald’s — located next to Giant that opened in 2022 — is now open, with Centre County’s first Wawa in the works and a potential Arby’s also taking shape. A fulfillment center warehouse and several other projects are also planned in the area in the coming years.
The new dual-brand hotel is expected to be completed in July 2025.
