Officials Wednesday transferred 93 acres of the former SCI Cresson prison property over to the Cambria County Redevelopment Authority. Over 300 acres of land are still up for grabs.
The redevelopment authority will develop a new clean natural gas power plant on a portion of what used to be SCI Cresson.
“Our work together in the last six months has included general collaboration between state and local government and a new sense of urgency,” Secretary Curt Topper said.
That leaves 328 acres unsold. Officials hope to sell the remaining land as a single parcel, but say that they can’t force companies to come to the area.
“We have already made efforts and it did not work with UPS with Uber,” said Senator John Wozniak.
“What we can do is create an environment and cut through the red tape so that they have the possibility and the expectation to succeed,” Representative Frank Burns added.
You’ll be able to see a for sale sign up starting June 1. Senator Wozniak also said moving forward the property will be taxable, which is another positive for the region.
The plant will bring hundreds of construction jobs to Cambria County. There will be between one dozen and several dozen permanent jobs at the upcoming plant.
It will be located on the undeveloped portion of the former prison. What they decide to do with the prison site will be up to the new buyer.
The redevelopment authority said they want to introduce the developer of the plant in the next 6-8 months. Construction is expected to take more than a year.