Asa Packer was rather laconic and reticent, so when word spread that Packer was to found a university, or aid one, there were various speculations. The final spot chosen, on South Mountain in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, could not have been much happier: as it nestled in with a preexisting religious community, the Moravians, and additionally was the future home of benefactor, and collaborator, Bethlehem Steel Co. So then, in 1865, he gave $500,000 and 60 acres (243,000 m²), later increased to 115 acres (465,000 m²) in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, as a technical school for the engineering professions, designed to help the growth and development of the Lehigh Valley. Lehigh University was chartered, and instruction began, in 1866. The first main building, Packer Hall (now the University Center) was completed in 1869, and of stone, as Packer himself stipulated. With Packer's generosity, Lehigh was able to offer education tuition free for 20 years, 1871–1891, before the economic troubles of the 1890s forced the University to reverse this policy.