HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County commissioners said Thursday that they’re awaiting environmental reports on a proposed site outside Duncansville for construction of a new county prison.

While the commissioners office, in March, released an Oct. 23, 2025, letter acknowledging their interest in purchasing two parcels totaling 83.25 acres in Blair and Allegheny Townships, they have yet to take further action.

Commissioners Chairman Dave Kessling said Thursday that TranSystems continues to work on the site’s environmental assessments. And so far, Kessling said the company has presented no information on any issues that would jeopardize the county’s proposed use of the property.

“We could go ahead and buy it,” Kessling said. “But as Commissioner (Laura) Burke once said: ‘Why do that without knowing if there are any environmental issues?’ So we’re waiting for their reports.”

A year has passed since the commissioners voted in April 2025 to hire TranSystems to handle architectural and engineering services associated with building a county prison to replace the aged facility on Mulberry Street. At the time of that vote, there was no site for the proposed prison because commissioners, a week prior, backed away from further pursuit of Alto-Reste Park acreage slated for use as future burial sites.

As revealed in the Oct. 23, 2025, letter that was released in March in response to Right-to-Know requests, Kessling and fellow commissioners Amy Webster and Laura Burke advised Pennsylvania Terminals Corp. of the county’s interest in purchasing two adjoining parcels along Dunnings Highway, behind the former Inlow’s Drive-In restaurant, for $585,000.

That same letter also referenced a desire to complete a wetland assessment, geotechnical testing, boundary/topography survey, utility investigation and a Phase 1 environmental assessment.

While the letter also referenced a $50,000 earnest money deposit, commissioners previously confirmed that no down payment was made.

Information the Mirror collected about the site indicates that it’s undeveloped woodland with a single powerline that crosses from the eastern edge of the property to the northern corner. County records show the property zoned for industrial use with access to well water. But construction of a prison would likely require connections to municipal water and sewer services.

The idea of building a new prison in Blair County took a step forward in 2022 when the county hired TranSystems to complete a feasibility study on the county’s options. That study, released publicly in February 2025, recommended building a new facility instead of renovating or rebuilding the current prison that’s regularly criticized for deteriorating conditions and overcrowding. The study recommended construction of a 440-bed, 165,950-square-foot facility.

While the cost was projected at $96.27 million to $123.16 million in February 2025, that was based on three sites that are no longer under consideration.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.