Firm completes design for Fred Rogers Center

LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- A Pittsburgh firm has designed a 40,000-square-foot brick, wood and glass complex to house the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media, officials at Saint Vincent College announced.
The planned $12 million complex will be located at a newly designed entrance to the college. The complex was designed by Davis Gardner Gannon Pope Architecture, and construction is expected to start in June, officials said.
Rogers, creator of public television's "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," grew up not far from the Roman Catholic college in Latrobe. He had been trying to create the center for about three years before he died of stomach cancer at age 74 in 2003.
The center will train educators to use media, including television, to teach young children. It will also house a Fred Rogers archive and a library and research area.
Another part of the complex will include a conference center to accommodate up to 300 people, and a large classroom-style meeting room.
The building will incorporate many environmentally friendly building techniques, including daylight and natural ventilation, water conservation controls and on-site storm water management.
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