Legislation bogged down in the Pennsylvania House not only has hindered the latest effort to sell Western Penitentiary on the North Side but also has cost the state the sale of the former’s warden’s house about a mile away.
The delays prompted the couple who had offered to buy the warden’s house at 3561 Shadeland Ave. for $140,000 to move on. They closed on another house this week.
“Honestly, we kind of gave up on it,” said prospective buyer Alex Bard of the warden’s house. “We were trying to have a home for our family and it just wasn’t coming together.”
The bill to convey the property to Alex and Melissa Bard is still awaiting action in the House. The sale was part of Senate Bill 561, which passed the Senate in June, and House Bill 1181.
State Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-North Side, whose district includes the warden’s house, said HB 1181 was tabled after SB 561, introduced by Sen. Wayne Fontana, made it to the House in June.
Since then, SB 561 has been languishing in the House State Government Committee.
Ms. Kinkead and Mr. Fontana, D-Brookline, blamed the situation on partisan politics, claiming that the Republicans who control the House have refused to move the legislation.
“It’s clear that the process has broken down when you’re in such a partisan situation that you can’t even sell someone a house,” Ms. Kinkead said.
Mr. Fontana said the delays not only have cost the state $140,000 but will keep the property off the tax rolls and will require the Commonwealth to continue to maintain it.
“There’s no reason not to move the property. There’s absolutely no logical reason not to move the bill when they knew there was a willing and able buyer,” he said.
Greg Gross, a spokesman for state Rep. Seth Grove, the Dover Republican who chairs the House State Government Committee, noted that HB 1181 was voted out of the committee in June and that it was sponsored by a Democrat.
But he did not know why SB 561 is still tied up in the committee.
Mr. Bard said he and Melissa had been renting in the neighborhood for about 12 years and wanted to remain there. They were willing to take a chance on the house even though he said it needed extensive work on the inside.
“We really liked the neighborhood,” he said.
With a prospective buyer no longer interested, both bills are now moot, at least in terms of a sale, Ms. Kinkead said.
Trying to sell the house has been a “yearlong frustration,” she added, one she blamed entirely on politics.
“It’s really just the Republican leadership being unwilling to move Democratic bills unless they get something in exchange for it,” she said. “I hate to sound like a partisan hack but that’s my frustration.”
Jason Gottesman, a spokesman for the state House Republican Caucus and House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre County, could not be reached for comment.
Ms. Kinkead said it might be time to consider taking such simple property transactions out of the hands of the Legislature and giving them to the executive branch to handle.
If the General Assembly can’t authorize “easy, sensible legislation that lets people buy a house, what are we doing as legislators?” she asked. “It’s part of our job, Democrat or Republican. We should have gotten this done.”
Beyond the warden’s house, the holdup on SB 561 has broader ramification for the future of the closed Western Penitentiary, formally known as the State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh.
The legislation would set up a competitive process to accept proposals for the sale of the 20.2-acre property in the Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood.
Its future has been in limbo since September 2017 when Manchester Bidwell Corp. voided an agreement it had to buy the old prison.
SB 561 requires the creation of a “competitive solicitation committee” to review any proposals for the property and to recommend a buyer.
The committee would not only include the state Department of General Services secretary or designee and legislative members but also “an official representative of the municipality in which the property is located.”
While the legislation does not list a price for the former prison, it requires state General Services officials to select the proposal that “offers the best value and return on investment.”
In addition to price, other factors that weigh into the decision could include proposed use of the property and job creation.
The state Department of General Services is getting ready to issue a request for proposals for a feasibility study to gather information about the property; its condition; environmental appraisals, which could be significant; and input from the community and then make recommendations on future reuse.
But Troy Thompson, General Services spokesman, stressed that the department can’t embark on a competitive process to actually sell the lockup until SB 561 or a similar piece of legislation has passed.
“We don’t need legislation to do the feasibility study but we do need it to bring it to market and to sell it,” he said.
It is costing the state Department of Corrections about $600,000 a year to maintain the property.
Nonetheless, Mr. Fontana criticized the department for moving too slowly in getting Western Pen ready for a sale. He said it can do remediation work and evaluations in preparation for a sale.
The property, he noted, likely will require significant remediation, including asbestos removal, to get it ready for a sale. He believes that will require a state investment and would like to get it done before Gov. Tom Wolf leaves office in January.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First Published: February 16, 2022, 11:00 a.m.
Updated: February 16, 2022, 11:18 a.m.
