The Penn State College of Engineering will undergo a two-phase $849 million upgrade in two funding cycles ending in 2028, according to the college’s master plan.

The project is “intended to increase the quantity and improve the quality of the COE’s physical space and optimize the distribution and organization of its departments and programs,” according to the plan.

In addition to the substantial demolition of several facilities in the Hammond and Sackett building complex, the plan includes the construction of an entirely new series of buildings, quads, and a parking deck in West Campus, beyond the IST Atherton Street bridge. These new structures will not displace any existing buildings in the area.

The project will be split into two phases based on the two funding cycles it will occupy. The first phase, funded by a $370 million budget approved by the university in the 2018-2023 funding cycle, will include extensive renovations to several campus sites including Sackett, Kunkle, Engineering Units A, B, and C, and Hammond.

Hammond and the engineering units will reportedly be demolished, while Sackett will be renovated. This phase will also see the construction of two new research and teaching facilities, West 1 and West 2, and the addition of a north wing to the Sackett building, which will be renovated.

Phase 2’s objectives, sponsored by a $479 million budget, will include the construction of West 3 and Core 1 and 2. The latter facilities will be academic centers built in the current location of Hammond and Sackett and will both reach up to five stories.

The College of Engineering’s undergraduate population has increased by 43 percent, and its graduate population seven percent, since 2008. Projections indicate that that number is set to increase over the next ten years.

More information on the project, as well as visual representations of its plans, can be accessed here.