Great News

After three days of intense rain and flooding all over the county, the sun peeked out just in time for the Commissioner's Meeting this morning, One unfortunate announcement made by Commissioner Makhjia was the passing of Commissioner Winder's mother. Obviously she was not present as she prepares for the funeral to take place this weekend. On behalf of the Friends of the Prison, we offer condolences to the family.

As I mentioned in the last post, the prison was indeed on the agenda in the form of an update on the process of the Request for Expression of Interest present by Scott France, Director of the Planning Department. In his report, of which I am trying to get a copy, he laid out the timeline for the release of the Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI). He outlined the County Goals, which are shown below in shots taken of the slideshow during the meeting.

Then he reviewed the timeline for the release of the RFEI, shown here.

Before this can be released, an Historic Survey Report (HSR) will be completed that will allow potential developers to have an idea what they will be faced with when they submit their RFEI. He did mention that they are looking for the RFEI to include the adjacent parking lot, 40k SF of office space for County use, potential for a firehouse for Norristown, and a use to support private investment and preservation. He indicated that they have met with some developers and have gotten input from several historic organizations.

The best news is that a letter will be sent to the municipality asking to withdraw the request for demolition (shown on the timeline with a date of 5/21/24). He stressed that some demo will most likely be needed, but that a new request would be submitted at that time.

At the meeting, several people spoke thanking them for the report and their promise of transparency in the project, and most importantly that a destination aspect to the site would be desired.