A new legislative proposal would require the state to reserve a portion of any Rockview prison land it plans to sell and make it available to Centre County for workforce housing.
The bill by state Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, unveiled at a press conference at his State College office on Thursday, would allow for the home county where any closed state correctional institution is located to receive up to 2% of the prison land the state intends to divest for the sole purpose of constructing affordable housing.
Counties would not be obligated to take the land, but the proposal would give them the option to help address a major need throughout the commonwealth.
Conklin explained that the designated land would be for working individuals who do not qualify for low-income housing programs but are priced out of market-rate homes.
“This legislation is done for your doctor or your nurse or someone that’s working at your local store. This is workforce housing,” Conklin said. “And especially in Centre County, all you have to do is talk to anyone out trying to buy a home today. They can’t afford it. They’ve been priced out of the district. They’ve been priced out of a home, and… to be quite honest with you, especially within the Centre Region of Centre County, we’re losing a workforce because they cannot afford to live within their work space.”
Counties, which could not transfer ownership of the land, would have discretion to determine the housing program, including income limits and the types of dwellings — though Conklin said he would prefer to see houses instead of apartments.
Conklin suggested one possible model, similar to that used by land trusts and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for state-owned land. The individual would buy the home, but the county would retain ownership of the land, thereby decreasing the homebuying costs. If the owner sold the home in the future, the next buyer would be someone within the defined income limits.
“[The counties] can do however they want,” Conklin said. “But there’s ways that you can artificially deflate the price of a house but still have it in a beautiful neighborhood, good neighbors, hard-working individuals that will be able to finally afford homeownership.”
While the legislation would apply to former state prison lands throughout Pennsylvania, the impetus was Rockview, which the Department of Corrections formally announced in Septemeber it will close as early as January.
At 5,700 acres, Rockview is by far the largest property in the Pennsylvania prison system. With farm and forest lands between the growing State College and Bellefonte areas, “there is probably no more prime property in Center County or in Central Pennsylvania than that property,” Conklin said. It will become more valuable, he added, when the new high-speed interchange between Interstates 80 and 99 is completed and provides faster access to the region.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has not indicated any future plans for the property, though the Department of Corrections has noted that some of the land will be retained because it services the neighboring Benner state prison.
Conklin introduced another piece of legislation in October aimed at preventing closed-door deals by requiring that the state attorney general provide oversight for any sale of land associated with Rockview, and that all bids and bidders be publicly disclosed.
Portions of the Rockview property have been sold off in the past in what Conklin suggested were “sweetheart deals.”
“I’ve been here for the history of that property being given away, and we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
He added that there are parts of the Rockview property he believes should never be sold.
“They are hunting, fishing, hiking that should never be touched and I hope whoever the governor is never allows that to be touched,” Conklin said.
Conklin is currently gathering co-sponsors for the bill, which will then be introduced in the state House.
