By Ashley Stalnecker
LNP
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — More than 20 camouflage-clad Pennsylvania State Police troopers charged into four vacant homes Tuesday on the campus of Millersville University as part of first-responders training.
The troopers took part in search warrant simulations as part of routine training for the Pennsylvania State Police Special Emergency Response Team. Millerville-based Blue Rock Fire Rescue also used the houses on the first block of East Frederick Street for training.
University police Chief Pete Anders offered the first responders use of the homes, which have been vacant for at least five years and are scheduled to be demolished Jan. 15.
Demolishing the four houses will save the university money and help reduce a surplus of university facilities, said Thomas Waltz, MU’s associate vice president for facilities. According to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education space inventory database, MU has a total of 2,357,740 square feet.
Waltz said the houses, which are in manageable shape, will be demolished not due to their current condition, but due to a lack of necessity.
The university initiated a space optimization study to assess current and projected space needs, Waltz said. The vacant houses set for demolition account for 11,769 square feet of the university’s 200,000-square-foot surplus in space, Waltz said.
“The university receives money to maintain buildings based on our enrollment, and with our most recent size feasibility study, we are roughly 200,000 square feet over our allowance,” Waltz said. “Because of this, we do not have the budget to keep up all of the facilities.”
As of Fall 2023, 6,752 students were enrolled at MU.
MU owns or leases 89 buildings, including 38 houses. All buildings are on its campus in Millersville, with the exception of the Ware Center, which is in Lancaster city, Waltz said.
The homes being demolished are the 113-year-old Dauphin House, the 97-year-old Allegheny and Armstrong houses, and the 74-year-old Susquehanna house. The Dauphin House served as office space for MU’s English department until the department was moved to its current location in McComsey Hall. The Allegheny and Armstrong houses served as faculty offices and office space for fraternity and sorority advisors, respectively. And the Susquehanna House served as office space for the university’s anthropology, sociology, and criminology faculty.
The cost to demolish the four buildings is $236,150 and is being paid for through a contract from the state Department of General Services, according to Waltz.
Plans MU are considering for the land the houses are on include making it a green space, expanding the nearby McComsey Hall parking lot, or adding a new science building, according to university spokesperson Janet Kacskos.
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