Airy Street Prison Redevelopment

Update

Thank you for your patience as we are still in the process of selecting a developer. In the meantime, the county is applying for a $4 million Cleanup Grant from the EPA to address environmental issues associated with the prison site.

We would like to thank everyone who attended the public meeting on January 22nd to learn about and discuss the Cleanup Grant and the Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA), as well as those who provided input on the documents online. We will continue to keep you posted with updates on the cleanup grant and redevelopment processes in the coming months.

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The Airy Street Prison, initially built in the mid to late 1800s with an addition completed at the turn of the century, was a functional prison up until the early 1980’s. The structure has continually deteriorated in the decades since it was closed. It will need to be demolished if a feasible reuse and redevelopment plan is not able to be determined.

The county is engaged over the course of this year to develop and issue a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) that encourages a combination of architectural preservation, private development, and additional county facilities on a tract inclusive of the prison site as well as the adjacent county surface parking lot. The County seeks to provide transparency in the work being conducted towards preserving and redeveloping the prison site. We welcome the open dialogue to assist in brainstorming innovative concepts for the site within the predetermined County and local jurisdictional goals and site constraints.

The project is constrained by the funding available, the health and safety requirements of existing structures, and the predetermined projects goals, which are as follows:

• Utilize the entire tract (prison lot and parking lot area) as needed to facilitate the most opportunity for county/municipal uses and architectural preservation.
• Recognize County and Norristown development goals related to development of the tract.
• Inspire investment and increased revenue for Norristown.
• Enhance public space and vibrancy of the area in conjunction with the new Justice Center campus.
• Encourage sustainability in design and process, community connections, and construction.
• Maximize the opportunity for a developer to preserve the most architecturally relevant areas of the prison.
• Gain community support and meaningful participation with partners and community members through a transparent process.
• Limit the county’s public funding toward the prison’s preservation and recognize that substantial private developer funding will be needed to achieve these goals.

The county has initiated a Structural Assessment Study with Colliers Engineering to be completed by this Fall with the findings to be incorporated into the future RFEI for the benefit of prospective developers. A summary of the scope for that study is included on this page with several other documents, including the original site conditions report from 2020.