$6.6 million renovation and expansion creates new home for CORE
The conference room at the Federal House includes a stunning table custom-made from a large black walnut tree that had to be removed to make room for the expansion.
This summer, Penn State Behrend dedicated its renovated and expanded Federal House to serve as the new home of the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Community Outreach, Research and Evaluation (CORE).
Believed to be the oldest brick structure in Harborcreek Township, built in 1838, the house has been fully restored and expanded by an 11,000-square-foot modern addition to create new program development, training, and event space for CORE, which provides programming to more than 3,000 youth and a roster of youth-related organizations every year.
“We’ve been intentional in how we repurpose this historic structure,” Chancellor Ralph Ford said. “The result of this project is a simple but graceful building that preserves the structure, adds character to the Behrend campus, and creates new programming and partnership opportunities for CORE.”
Among the noteworthy features of the center is a conference room table, custom-made from the wood of a large black walnut tree that had to be removed to make room for the expansion.