The Conditions and Assessment Document has been uploaded to the Engage Montco site. It is an 81 page document, showing all manner of the condition of the prison including a building and structural evaluation. It is a comprehensive study including: environmental conditions, masonry, site review, pricing, and grant research. It also includes a list of recommendations to stabilize the exiting structure to make it safer for pedestrians. While the PDF indicates six appendices, I did not see any attached.
Toward the end of the report is listed some positive news:
"After reviewing the various data gathered through the investigation, CED found that there is significant development potential on the Airy Street Prison Site that could incorporate elements of the Prison."
In other news, our fight to save the Airy Street Prison was mentioned in an article entitled "Should a building be doomed by its harmful past" about preservation efforts in Philadelphia for the old Philadelphia Police building, aka "the Roundhouse" located at 750 Race Street and the historical GOP headquarters located at 1039 Chestnut Street, are in danger of being excluded from the local historic register which would prevent the building from being easily demolished. The reason for their fate is similar to the sentiment voiced for the prison: that the building is simply too tainted to be saved. One point of interest in this article was that the reporter noted that Norristown "has been going through a real estate investment boomlet"
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