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$25 MM renovation and expansion of Physical Education Building at Penn State Abington

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PSUFTG

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Abington:

In 2015 - at the strenuous behest of Trustee Mark Dambly and others - Penn State spent $50,000,000 on a dormitory project at Abington. The 100 Unit building (4 students to a unit) was completed in 2016. A cost of $500,000 per unit (the cost did not include land costs - PSU already owned the land - nor did it include "pre-construction" site work. The $50 million was just to "build the building").

At that time, back in 2015, the arguments were made - with great emotion and fervor - that this project was the "last step", the missing link, needed to turn Abington into a thriving, growing campus. Enrollment would spike up (including more out-of-state students)

In 2024, another project - a $68,000,000 academic/office building was approved for Abington.

And now, the $25,000,000 Athletics facility renovation.


When these projects were started in 2015, the enrollment at Abington was approximately 4,000 students.
Today? Enrollment is 2,700 (a decline of over 30%), and we are now just entering the "demographic cliff".
 
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psuro

psuro

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Could the Abington Trustees worked out agreements with local gyms to allow the Penn State students to work out at those locations for free or a reduced rate, and allocated less money than $25MM?
 
LionJim

LionJim

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Oct 12, 2021
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PSUFTG said:
Abington:

In 2015 - at the strenuous behest of Trustee Mark Dambly and others - Penn State spent $50,000,000 on a dormitory project at Abington. The 100 Unit building (4 students to a unit) was completed in 2016. A cost of $500,000 per unit (the cost did not include land costs - PSU already owned the land - nor did it include "pre-construction" site work. The $50 million was just to "build the building").

At that time, back in 2015, the arguments were made - with great emotion and fervor - that this project was the "last step", the missing link, needed to turn Abington into a thriving, growing campus. Enrollment would spike up (including more out-of-state students)

In 2024, another project - a $68,000,000 academic/office building was approved for Abington.

And now, the $25,000,000 Athletics facility renovation.


When these projects were started in 2015, the enrollment at Abington was approximately 4,000 students.
Today? Enrollment is 2,700 (a decline of over 30%), and we are now just entering the "demographic cliff".
Click to expand...
Welp.
 
BobPSU92

BobPSU92

Heisman
Aug 22, 2001
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PSUFTG said:
Abington:

In 2015 - at the strenuous behest of Trustee Mark Dambly and others - Penn State spent $50,000,000 on a dormitory project at Abington. The 100 Unit building (4 students to a unit) was completed in 2016. A cost of $500,000 per unit (the cost did not include land costs - PSU already owned the land - nor did it include "pre-construction" site work. The $50 million was just to "build the building").

At that time, back in 2015, the arguments were made - with great emotion and fervor - that this project was the "last step", the missing link, needed to turn Abington into a thriving, growing campus. Enrollment would spike up (including more out-of-state students)

In 2024, another project - a $68,000,000 academic/office building was approved for Abington.

And now, the $25,000,000 Athletics facility renovation.


When these projects were started in 2015, the enrollment at Abington was approximately 4,000 students.
Today? Enrollment is 2,700 (a decline of over 30%), and we are now just entering the "demographic cliff".
Click to expand...

Jesus.

What is the occupancy rate of that luxurious dorm? 😞
 
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CVLion

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What is special about this campus such that there are “strenuous behests” for expenditures such as this, while there are other campuses that are shutting down entirely?
 
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PSUFTG

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CVLion said:
What is special about this campus such that there are “strenuous behests” for expenditures such as this, while there are other campuses that are shutting down entirely?
Click to expand...
Enjoy (goes on for about an hour, IIRC):
This should queue up to start at around the 1 hour 54 minute mark. Start there.

Some highlights - around 2:10:00 mark: Madelyn Hayes (Commonwealth Campus chief, at the behest of Trustee Dambly) lectures other trustees that "I am sorry you don't think there will be growth (of enrollment)"... or words to that effect. Knowing the data - how sad was that lecture?
A few minutes later, Dambly begins his exhortations - including ragging on other trustees "lack of knowledge and engagement". "I am troubled by the lack of faith (Darth Vader?) in our administration... and we need to "invest in our enterprise" (that was a common buzzword of that time, especially used by Dambly - for borrowing and spending like a drunken sailor). It goes on for some time after that, if one wants to watch.


FWIW: This video - when you go back and look at the meeting, overlapped with the actual truth of where things stood at the time - it is very enlightening wrt several "How did we get here?" questions that came to light in subsequent years. (Particularly wrt how the Board was being "governed")

 
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DaytonRickster

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CVLion said:
What is special about this campus such that there are “strenuous behests” for expenditures such as this, while there are other campuses that are shutting down entirely?
Click to expand...
Pethaps it's location in the burbs of Philly, hoping to draw from the larger population, locals and foreigners with student visas?
 
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Mile High Lion

Junior
Sep 3, 2001
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PSUFTG said:
Abington:

In 2015 - at the strenuous behest of Trustee Mark Dambly and others - Penn State spent $50,000,000 on a dormitory project at Abington. The 100 Unit building (4 students to a unit) was completed in 2016. A cost of $500,000 per unit (the cost did not include land costs - PSU already owned the land - nor did it include "pre-construction" site work. The $50 million was just to "build the building").

At that time, back in 2015, the arguments were made - with great emotion and fervor - that this project was the "last step", the missing link, needed to turn Abington into a thriving, growing campus. Enrollment would spike up (including more out-of-state students)

In 2024, another project - a $68,000,000 academic/office building was approved for Abington.

And now, the $25,000,000 Athletics facility renovation.


When these projects were started in 2015, the enrollment at Abington was approximately 4,000 students.
Today? Enrollment is 2,700 (a decline of over 30%), and we are now just entering the "demographic cliff".
Click to expand...
Pretty delusional to think Abington would attract out of state students. 4000 students, no one out of state has heard of it. 18-20 year olds aren’t going pay out of state tuition to go there.
 
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PSUFTG

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Mile High Lion said:
Pretty delusional to think Abington would attract out of state students. 4000 students, no one out of state has heard of it. 18-20 year olds aren’t going pay out of state tuition to go there.
Click to expand...
That was my sentiment - more or less - at the time. History over the last decade has shown that out.
 
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Bison13

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CVLion said:
What is special about this campus such that there are “strenuous behests” for expenditures such as this, while there are other campuses that are shutting down entirely?
Click to expand...
It's close enough to Philly and with enough room to have needless projects so the trustees can fluff up their wallets
 
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MtNittany

MtNittany

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That $25M could have been used to lower tuition at Penn College - you know where you used to (before PSU took over) learn a valuable trade while paying for it by working part time.
 
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RolexKong

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Mile High Lion said:
Pretty delusional to think Abington would attract out of state students. 4000 students, no one out of state has heard of it. 18-20 year olds aren’t going pay out of state tuition to go there.
Click to expand...
Particularly since almost anyone willing to pay full-freight, out-of-state can get into University Park.
 
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rigi19041

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Apr 1, 2026
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PSUFTG said:
Abington:

In 2015 - at the strenuous behest of Trustee Mark Dambly and others - Penn State spent $50,000,000 on a dormitory project at Abington. The 100 Unit building (4 students to a unit) was completed in 2016. A cost of $500,000 per unit (the cost did not include land costs - PSU already owned the land - nor did it include "pre-construction" site work. The $50 million was just to "build the building").

At that time, back in 2015, the arguments were made - with great emotion and fervor - that this project was the "last step", the missing link, needed to turn Abington into a thriving, growing campus. Enrollment would spike up (including more out-of-state students)

In 2024, another project - a $68,000,000 academic/office building was approved for Abington.

And now, the $25,000,000 Athletics facility renovation.


When these projects were started in 2015, the enrollment at Abington was approximately 4,000 students.
Today? Enrollment is 2,700 (a decline of over 30%), and we are now just entering the "demographic cliff".
Click to expand...

Between tuition and rent the 400+ students that live in the psu abington dorm.generate about $10,000,000in revenue.

How much does the psu womens soccer team generate with their tens of millions in spending?
 
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rigi19041

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Apr 1, 2026
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Sharkies

Sharkies

Senior
Jun 14, 2013
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PSUFTG said:
Enjoy (goes on for about an hour, IIRC):
This should queue up to start at around the 1 hour 54 minute mark. Start there.

Some highlights - around 2:10:00 mark: Madelyn Hayes (Commonwealth Campus chief, at the behest of Trustee Dambly) lectures other trustees that "I am sorry you don't think there will be growth (of enrollment)"... or words to that effect. Knowing the data - how sad was that lecture?
A few minutes later, Dambly begins his exhortations - including ragging on other trustees "lack of knowledge and engagement". "I am troubled by the lack of faith (Darth Vader?) in our administration... and we need to "invest in our enterprise" (that was a common buzzword of that time, especially used by Dambly - for borrowing and spending like a drunken sailor). It goes on for some time after that, if one wants to watch.


FWIW: This video - when you go back and look at the meeting, overlapped with the actual truth of where things stood at the time - it is very enlightening wrt several "How did we get here?" questions that came to light in subsequent years. (Particularly wrt how the Board was being "governed")

Click to expand...

That should say Madelyn Hanes**, Barry, not Hayes. And don't forget, she got a library at Harrisburg named after her for her doing Dambly's bidding.
 
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Bwifan

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DaytonRickster said:
Pethaps it's location in the burbs of Philly, hoping to draw from the larger population, locals and foreigners with student visas?
Click to expand...
Well I see a large amount of colleges and universities in the suburbs around Philly and inside city limits. To spend that kind of money with the hope of build it and they will come IMHO is absolutely insane.
 
kgilbert78

kgilbert78

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Well, "Oz" (it's name back then) made a huge difference for me. I needed a smaller campus to make the jump to UP easier--and it saved a lot of money as my dad was out of work during my first two years. Spent a fair bit of time in that building playing hockey.
 
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Keyser Soze 16802

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2 alums with strong business backgrounds did a break even analysis on the dorm

They found that the dorm would NEVER break even. The break even point was after the dorm would need to be renovated at great expense due to the passage of time (25 years IIRC)

This information was given to the alumni elected trustees but none of them asked in the relevant meeting "when will this project break even?"
 
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PSUFTG

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Keyser Soze 16802 said:
2 alums with strong business backgrounds did a break even analysis on the dorm

They found that the dorm would NEVER break even. The break even point was after the dorm would need to be renovated at great expense due to the passage of time (25 years IIRC)

This information was given to the alumni elected trustees but none of them asked in the relevant meeting "when will this project break even?"
Click to expand...
Yep.

If that dorm was full (it is not), of kids paying the sticker price for the housing (which they do not - PSU has to discount/give grants to even get what they have in there) - it would still never (ever) so much as break even.

Between the debt service and the operating costs/maintenance/student transportation etc etc etc - fuggetaboutit. (And that's even if you assumed the land had no value)

Now, at 1/2 the price (which is a lot closer to what it should have cost): Maybe.
But, even then it has not done the things it was "sure to do" (according to the proponents) - such as raise enrollment (Abington enrollment has actually shrunk as much or more than the average CWC). Go figure.
 
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PSUFTG

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Keyser Soze 16802 said:
2 alums with strong business backgrounds did a break even analysis on the dorm

They found that the dorm would NEVER break even. The break even point was after the dorm would need to be renovated at great expense due to the passage of time (25 years IIRC)

This information was given to the alumni elected trustees but none of them asked in the relevant meeting "when will this project break even?"
Click to expand...
Actually, they did - (maybe not at that meeting I linked in). They were sold a bale of baloney (some of them probably realized it was baloney, others probably did not)
But whattareyagonnado?
 
BobPSU92

BobPSU92

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The dorm at Abington that we’re discussing was built some ten years ago. That’s a lifetime ago. It must be outdated by now. Time for a new one, even bigger. $100 MM?
 
troutrus

troutrus

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PSU Abington? Who knew?
I went there for a couple years in the mid sixties. Used to be called Penn State Ogontz.
Wonder why I was never notified of the name change? 🤔
 
Lion84

Lion84

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I went there for a year - as Ogontz and never thought of it more than a commuter campus - not sure why they pushed for dorms there since there were so manty true Colleges in the area around and in Philly.
 
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Keyser Soze 16802

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Lion84 said:
I went there for a year - as Ogontz and never thought of it more than a commuter campus - not sure why they pushed for dorms there since there were so manty true Colleges in the area around and in Philly.
Click to expand...
The usual suspects no doubt made big money on the project
 
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Achowalogan

Achowalogan

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PSUFTG said:
Abington:

In 2015 - at the strenuous behest of Trustee Mark Dambly and others - Penn State spent $50,000,000 on a dormitory project at Abington. The 100 Unit building (4 students to a unit) was completed in 2016. A cost of $500,000 per unit (the cost did not include land costs - PSU already owned the land - nor did it include "pre-construction" site work. The $50 million was just to "build the building").

At that time, back in 2015, the arguments were made - with great emotion and fervor - that this project was the "last step", the missing link, needed to turn Abington into a thriving, growing campus. Enrollment would spike up (including more out-of-state students)

In 2024, another project - a $68,000,000 academic/office building was approved for Abington.

And now, the $25,000,000 Athletics facility renovation.


When these projects were started in 2015, the enrollment at Abington was approximately 4,000 students.
Today? Enrollment is 2,700 (a decline of over 30%), and we are now just entering the "demographic cliff".
Click to expand...
Dambly & Kronies Construction Co did just fine…..
 
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BobPSU92

BobPSU92

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PSUFTG said:
It would appear to be abundantly obvious that someone(s) made out like bandits. That money all ended up in some pocket. It didn't evaporate.

Honestly, its enough to make anyone who cares about Penn State weep. Over and over again.
Click to expand...

OBVIOUSLY. o_O , upgrades to the athletic facility will drive enrollment growth. Good thing they built that dorm to accommodate the increased enrollment.

😞
 
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TheBigUglies

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psuro said:
Could the Abington Trustees worked out agreements with local gyms to allow the Penn State students to work out at those locations for free or a reduced rate, and allocated less money than $25MM?
Click to expand...
As someone who lived in(spent more time there then in classrooms which was part of my demise) the PE building at Ogontz back in the 80s it is more than just a work out facility. The gymnasium is there where all the sports use(bball, vball, baseball/softball in bad weather(there used to be batting cage that could be set up). The workout part of that building used to be just a universal gym set tucked away in the corner by the mens locker room. There is a mezzanine used by some sports as well. I also took a few PE classes that were held on the mezzanine. Also, they would rent out the facility on weekends and night times for things like volleyball tournaments, cheer competitions, and other sporting events.

We used to think of Ogontz as 13th grade because it was all commuters at the time. Those dorms they built, I think, are a pretty long walk from campus. Kids these days don't like to walk. That can't be very appealing to go there for 4 years. Also, the campus is surrounded by big arse old houses which most don't have student apartments in them(at least back in the day they didnt).
 
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