NORRISTOWN, PA — Montgomery County and Norristown officials are celebrating the official opening of a request for proposals to develop the 68 acre swath of Norristown State Hospital land deeded to the county just over a year ago.
The land has long been considered a golden ticket for the local economy and last year’s transfer of the property from the state to county and local authorities marked the end of years of negotiations and decades of speculation.
“This is a momentous day for Norristown,” Council President Tom Lepera said. “This is our chance to reposition ourselves in the regional marketplace. Something like this comes along the way and it gives us an opportunity to change the narrative in Norristown, so it’s a big deal.”
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Now that the request for proposals is formally out, developers have the next several months to submit their proposals to the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority and the municipality. It remains unclear what exactly the future could hold for the site, but according to local leaders, that’s part of the excitement.
“This isn’t a community with its hand out; It’s a community with its hand out to shake hands and create partners,” State Rep. Matt Bradford said in a statement. “This is only possible because of a promise made five years ago by Gov. Wolf that this day would come. It did not come soon enough for a community that needs rateables desperately. The plans and the vision ahead warms my heart.”
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In the past, discussions of a mixed use apartment building, retail development, and more public space, including parks, has been floated for the state hospital grounds.
Regardless of what comes to the property, Norristown will see a huge boon in real estate and other local taxes, possibly up to tens of millions of dollars.
Gov. Wolf’s administration originally reached an agreement in December 2017 with the municipality to vacate two buildings on the state hospital grounds by 2022, opening the door for the long-discussed possibility of redevelopment.
The announcement came after controversy stewed over the state was forced to begin construction at the state hospital to add more beds following a lawsuit. In a settlement with ACLU in June 2017, the state agreed to create 110 new spots, including 50 at Norristown, after the civil rights organization alleged that individuals with severe mental illness had “languished” for extensive periods of time in jail cells when they should have been receiving care.
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DHS previously stated that due to the settlement, the state faces millions in fines if it does not provide the needed space in a timely manner. Norristown was reluctant to comply with the state’s demands until the state put together a plan for the future deeding of the hospital to local authorities, which it did in 2023.
The state hospital will remain open into the future at a lower capacity, with altered uses for some of its buildings. There remain 137 beds for forensic patients, and a new forensic facility began construction in 2022.
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