Blair County cuts ties with prison architect
‘We got to a point where we couldn’t agree’: Blair to seek new firm for project
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County commissioners are in need of an architectural/engineering firm for the proposed prison project, after voting Thursday to end a contract with the firm they hired in April 2025.
Commissioners Amy Webster and Laura Burke, who voted Thursday to terminate the county's contract with GFT, formerly known as TranSystems Corporation Consultants of Pennsylvania, indicated that the action was a reflection of irreconcilable differences.
"We got to a point where we couldn't agree," Burke said after the commissioners' weekly meeting where she spoke of reaching a point when it became clear that commissioners didn't want to keep working with GFT.
"We reached a point of irreconcilable differences and thought it was best for the county to move on," Webster said.
The decision, according to Webster, developed for different reasons and not because of any specific reason.
"There were several things that we couldn't get answers to," Webster said.
Commissioners Chairman Dave Kessling was absent from Thursday's meeting where his fellow commissioners voted.
Despite ending the contract, Webster and Burke confirmed their desire to find a replacement architect and to move forward with plans for building a new prison to replace the aged Mulberry Street structure.
"Moving forward with the construction of a new prison remains a top priority for this board of commissioners and the prison board as well," Burke said.
Both commissioners indicated that efforts will be made to contact firms with expertise, knowledge and experience in designing and building prisons. They said they don't intend to advertise in light of the limited number of firms with those qualifications.
Commissioners also didn't advertise or solicit proposals prior to April 2025, when they signed an agreement with GFT, then using the name of TranSystems, to design the county's prison. TranSystems had already completed a feasibility study for Blair County, in which it recommended building a new prison instead of undertaking improvements to the current one.
When signing with GFT, Kessling, Webster and Burke expressed faith in the company's knowledge of Blair County's prison operations, its recommendation for construction of a new prison and its expertise.
Commissioners showed no interest in considering other firms or in conducting public interviews of architectural firm representatives, as Lancaster County did prior to selecting TranSystems to design its prison.
Webster and Burke said Thursday that Blair County will retain all work that GFT has completed or secured for the new prison, thereby putting the county in a position to present that work to the firm that takes over the job. The work done so far adds up to about $800,000, based on an estimate Burke offered.
Webster said the work includes recent environmental assessments reports of the proposed site above the former Inlow's restaurant, off Dunnings Highway. In late June when the Altoona Mirror asked for a copy of those reports, Webster said the county didn't have the reports in writing and that the conclusion -- that there were no environmental issues -- had been relayed orally to commissioners.
Both Webster and Burke also indicated Thursday that the decision to find a new architect is separate from ongoing efforts to buy the land identified for the county's new prison.
Webster said the latest version of the proposed sales agreement to acquire the land is in need of a couple of minor changes. And the updated version will need to be reviewed by the broker for Pennsylvania Terminals Corp., the current land owner and prospective seller.
"I'm hoping we can close by Aug. 31," Webster said.
County commissioners are on record with an offer of $585,000 for the proposed prison site, to be built on two wooded parcels adding up to about 83 acres, mostly in Blair Township and with a small portion in Allegheny Township. In May, commissioners indicated that water, sewer and electrical services can be provided to the site.
Based on the work that GFT has done so far, the new prison is designed as a 150,000-square-foot one-story facility with cells located on the ground floor and a mezzanine. It would have beds for 454 inmates in nine housing units, including an area for juvenile inmates. It's also expected to have larger areas for inmate medical treatment, staff training, attorney-client consultations, meetings and exercise.
When the prison board reviewed the proposed plans in May, it was revealed that a projected price of $150 million had been reduced by $50 million after removing a district court building from the site. That structure was proposed as a replacement for the district court building on Union Street in Hollidaysburg.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.