ALLENTOWN, Pa. — It’s been decades in the making, and now the long-dormant former site of Allentown State Hospital is set to be sold to a developer.
But after former state Sen. Pat Browne introduced a bill that would let the 195-acre property be sold for about $5.5 million to the Center City Investment Corporation in Allentown, some raised flags — arguing that the sale should have been through a competitive bid.
In fact, state Sen.-elect Jarrett Coleman, the Republican who defeated Browne to represent the 16th district, said on Dec. 20 he would look to block the sale of the Allentown State Hospital property.
- Newly elected state Sen. Jarrett Coleman is looking to block the sale of the long-dormant Allentown State Hospital property
- Former state Sen. Pat Browne, in a recent move, has introduced a bill that would sell the 195-acre property for $5.5 million
- Critics of the sale have said the move is non-competitive. But state Rep. Mike Schlossberg said it may be the next-best option, after prior bids did not conform to requirements
Coleman argued that the process needed to go through competitive bidding.
"For the life of me, I can't understand why we can't have a competitive bid of this type of property," he said.
Stopping the sale
Coleman only started his new office this month, but said he has gotten numerous complaints about the way the land transaction was handled. While the site is not in his district, his constituents have a vested interest in it, since it's public property, he said.
"People didn't elect me to go out there and get along," Coleman said. "They elected me to go out there and fight for issues they hold dear in the district."
Coleman said he was unsure if the deal for the property had been closed. The $5.5 million contract gave the sides two years to reach an agreement, he said.
Even if the deal can't be stopped, Coleman said he would advocate to strengthen senate rules on no-bid land deals of public property.
He said he hasn't yet spoken with leadership on that goal.
Yet, Coleman’s efforts may be in vain. State Rep. Mike Schlossberg (D-Lehigh) — whose district included the Allentown State Hospital property for years before it was moved out in recent redistricting — said it could be too late for Coleman to change the course of the deal.
“I cannot recall a single instance where a sale in progress was canceled by the general assembly in opposition to the actual sitting senator, the sitting representative and the local government — all of whom support the property redevelopment as it’s currently been passed,” Schlossberg said. “So I don’t see that happening.”
'Frustrating to hear'
Still, Coleman said he was concerned that the details of the no-bid sale were not released in a Right-to-Know request. He argued that government should strive for transparency, especially on land of potentially high value.
He said he believes commercial interest in the property is likely to have gone up since controversy about the sale became public.
"Until they have a competitive bid for the land, we don't know" why it couldn't be publicly bid, he said. "Citizens don't know. We can't even expose what previously happened in the bidding process."
“It’s a little frustrating to keep hearing ‘this was done in the dark.’"State Rep. Mike Schlossberg
Schlossberg pushed back. Not only was there an open bidding process in the past, he said, but two companies did submit bids. However, the bids, Schlossberg said, did not conform to the specifications required by the state Department of General Services.
“It’s a little frustrating to keep hearing ‘This was done in the dark,' ” Schlossberg said. “Folks, this was an open bid. Anybody who wanted to could have placed a bid. And nobody placed one that met with the standards of the Department of General Services. So they went with the next best option.”
Property development supported
State Sen.-elect Nick Miller, a Democrat who recently won election to the state’s 14th District, will have the Allentown State Hospital property in his district when he takes office next month.
Miller said he supports development of the property.
“I think Sen.-elect Coleman and I have the same goal — we all want this land to be developed," Miller said. "I don’t have a comment on Sen.-elect Coleman’s desire to block the sale, but it’s my belief that it’s due time to develop this land for the benefit of the entire region.
“The sale of the property to City Center is the best path forward to creating much needed jobs, affordable housing, and other important economic investment in the Lehigh Valley, including adding the property to the city’s tax rolls to benefit the school district.
"I look forward to working with all of my colleagues in the senate, including Senator-Elect Coleman, to ensure the remainder of this process, and any similar future sale, is transparent.”
This year, Center City Investment Corp. announced that it plans to bring a mix of housing units to that site, in a project tentatively known as Northridge.
