Ferguson’s Township Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gave conditional preliminary approval to Penn State’s plan for expansion of a turbine research lab in the Cato Park area.

The university plans to construct a 13,050 square-foot addition and 7,990 storage yard for the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine, or START, Lab, on the north side of the Lida Manson Building at 3127 Research Drive.

Founded in 2012 with the Department of Energy and Pratt & Whitney, the START Lab was designed to perform gas turbine aerodynamic and heat transfer studies, instrumentation development, and integration of additive manufacturing. The expansion will house the new START+ two-stage research turbine, which will operate independently from the existing START rig. It will increase capabilities for research on new turbine cycles and effects of turbine size on efficiency, according to a university news release in September, when the project was approved by the Board of Trustees.

“The START Lab has been a national leader in turbine testing for more than a decade, and these additions and renovations will provide the lab with the facilities it needs to continue leading the nation in critical research toward the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from aviation,” Tonya L. Peeples, dean of the College of Engineering, said in the release.

Penn State, the Department of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Pratt & Whitney will jointly fund the $26.3 million project, according to the university

Development of the addition would include a reduction of 14 parking spaces, leaving a total of 64, which will be more than 42 required by township ordinance. The landscaping plan would remove 49 of the 175 existing mature trees on the site, but would add 105 new canopy and understory trees and 118 shrubs.

Project and township engineers were working out the details of stormwater management requirements that must be approved before the preliminary plan can be finalized.

The plan also includes 10 wall-mounted lights on the exterior of the addition and two pole-mounted lights to illuminate the parking lot and entrance.

Supervisors Omari Patterson and Lisa Strickland both said they heard from neighboring residents with questions about impacts of noise and light on the surrounding community.

The university noted in September that the new research turbine and associated compressors “requires the expansion of the power supply to the building, including a new substation on the site,” and the planning for the development includes “prioritizing noise and thermal management.”

Paul Politza, of project design and engineering firm Gannett Fleming, said the neighboring community “has been at the forefront of our planning process.”

The building addition and storage yard are designed to be placed “so we’re not directed to the community in the rear of Penn State’s plot,” Politza said. He added that planners have conducted acoustical analysis and have measures “to remediate sound around mechanical equipment and those things that could potentially affect the community.”

Board of Supervisors Chair Jeremie Thompson said he’s followed the township planning commission’s multiple reviews of the project and toured the existing facility.

“I definitely appreciate Penn State’s willingness to be good neighbors with the community,” Thompson said. “They’ve taken a lot of actions thus far to try to mitigate that noise, and it looks like they’re trying to keep that in mind with this plan as well. I think everyone’s open to anything further that can possibly continue to keep that at the forefront.”

He added that the lab is typically in use only during daytime hours on weekdays.

Supervisors unanimously approved the preliminary land development plan a week after the planning commission voted unanimously to recommend approval.

The planning commission and the supervisors will be reviewing plans for the expansion again, as the university must still submit a final land development plan for approval before construction can begin.