Blair commissioners forgive real estate taxes for project

Agreement for housing site at former hospital lasts for 10 years

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County commissioners agreed Tuesday to forgive 10 years of real estate tax revenue for the developing housing project on the site of the former Bon Secours hospital.

"This is just a bright new chapter for a historic area of Altoona," Commissioners Chairman Bruce Erb said. "It's going to be phenomenal in what it's going to do for that neighborhood."

Jeff Long, developer of the Graystone senior housing projects, has already started working on transforming the former hospital between Seventh and Eighth avenues and 25th and 27th streets.

In September, Long announced plans to invest $14 million to turn the two largest buildings of the hospital complex into the Graystone "Grand Palazzo" with independent living apartments and personal-care units.

Based on Tuesday's action, real estate taxes on that project won't begin flowing until 2024.

Like the commissioners, Altoona City Council and the Altoona Area School Board have also approved an amendment giving up real tax revenue from that site through 2023. That tax incentive option is available based on the site's location and its inclusion in a state-designated Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone designed to encourage development.

Commissioners Terry Tomassetti and Ted Beam Jr. voted with Erb on Tuesday to approved the amended agreement as outlined by Solicitor Nathan Karn.

"It's an area in need of revitalization," Tomassetti said.

The former Bon Secours hospital complex, founded in 1910 as Mercy Hospital, later merged with Altoona Hospital to form the Altoona Regional Health System that was in turn acquired by UPMC in mid-2013.

UPMC Altoona recently sold the property for $1 to the Altoona Blair County Development Corp., which will transfer that property to Long and continue to market nearby properties.

Erb said he sees the project as one that will eventually bring in tax revenue that will more than replace the lost revenue.

He said he foresees additional development in that location because of the housing complex.

"It gives that area a chance for rebirth," Erb said. "Think of the conveniences the people who live there will need and want. Can this be a magnet for other development in that area? I think so," Erb said.

As described in September, the housing project's independent-living apartments will range from 600 to 2,000 square feet. Rents, inclusive of all utilities except telephone, will range from $700 a month for a one-room unit to as high as $1,800 for the largest two-bedroom units planned on the top floor.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.