HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County remains interested in finding a site where it can build a new prison.

Commissioner Amy Webster said Thursday that a property which was under consideration is no longer being considered because of environmental issues.

But since that development, Webster said local real estate agent Richard Johnston has offered to keep looking on behalf of the county.

“We’re very happy that he offered to do that,” Webster said after the commissioners meeting, drawing concurrence from fellow commissioners Dave Kessling and Laura Burke.

In early June, the county signed a contract with Johnston, to approach the owner of the property that had drawn their attention.

When asked Thursday if Johnston was being directed to other sites, Kessing said it’s Johnston who is doing the looking.

Webster agreed and added: “Of all the other places we had looked at, we dismissed them in favor of the property that turned out not to work.”

In 2022, the commissioners board hired TranSystems Corp. to complete a feasibility study that would examine and map out a plan for replacing the county’s aged and overcrowded prison.

While the prison was built in 1868 and 1869, it has since been enlarged and undergone housing renovations. In recent weeks, it has been housing about 380 to 390 inmates.