A small, unused piece of state prison land near Shiloh Road and Interstate 99 in Benner Township could be sold to a neighboring commercial property owner under bipartisan legislation introduced by two lawmakers from Centre County.
The proposal from state Reps. Paul Takac, D-College Township, and Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, would convey a 9.029-acre tract to Ferris Land Development for $90,000, a figure determined by an independent appraiser.
They wrote in a co-sponsorship memo that selling the property to Ferris could help boost economic development in the Shiloh Road corridor.
“Ferris Land Development has already purchased land in Benner Township and has pledged to improve the economic development of the area, including improving the neighboring Shiloh Road corridor,” they wrote. “Because this parcel is landlocked with limited access and is therefore not attractive to most buyers, transferring the property to a developer that owns adjacent property is a unique opportunity to promote the economic prospects of an area with limited general marketability. Such economic development could also help make the area a commercial and residential draw to nearby State College residents.”
The mostly wooded land in question would remain unused regardless of whether Rockview state prison, which officially ceased operation in March, had remained open, Takac said.. It is miles away from the main prison land and has no direct access.
Representing about 0.1% of what constitutes the Rockview land’s 5,800 acres, it is bordered by an I-99 northbound off-ramp to the north, University Area Joint Authority to the west, Shiloh Road to the east and the 44-acre Ferris property to the south.
“It’s a really weird triangular little piece of land that has no access, no road going to it,” Takac told StateCollege.com. “It was a leftover remnant from when 99 was built. The reason it’s shaped the way it is, is because the access road cuts it diagonally. It was a standalone parcel and basically the rest of it was taken by I-99. And it has stood idle since then.”
Mechanicsburg-based Ferris Land Development acquired the neighboring property in 2025 for $7.88 million. Ron Ferris, the company’s owner and the CEO of Bobby Rahal Automotive, publicly discussed in 2023 potential plans for an auto dealership and retail development on the site. He has since helped lead a public-private effort to coordinate traffic improvements for the anticipated development boom along the Shiloh Road corridor in Benner and College townships.
The 9-acre parcel would be used for stormwater mitigation for the Ferris commercial development, Takac said.
“That’s the perfect use for this adjacent parcel, which otherwise is undevelopable because it’s landlocked and there’s no road to it,” Takac said. “There is no way to utilize that space other than by an adjacent landowner.”
Takac added that UAJA had no interest in acquiring the property and ClearWater Conservancy had no concerns about it being used for stormwater mitigation.
Benner Township’s Board of Supervisors approved a letter of support for the property transfer during a special meeting in April. Township Secretary Sharon Royer said at the time that the parcel is already zoned commercial, and has been “for years.” Because it’s state-owned, the township has received no tax revenue from it.
“It makes sense to not leave this chunk of commercial 9 acres landlocked,” township solicitor Rodney Beard said. “It would be very difficult to develop.”
“It would be impossible,” Supervisor Randy Moyer said. “I think it’s good. Any time we can get money on the tax rolls that we have never had is a bonus.”
A direct conveyance of the property is one of two options for transferring state-owned land, along with open bidding. Takac said open bidding remains under consideration, but because the parcel is inaccessible except to a neighboring property owner, he believes the state would be unlikely to get what Ferris is willing to pay for it.
“Frankly, I don’t care if it goes to open bid; I just don’t think we’re necessarily going to get the same value,” he said. “This is one option. It doesn’t have to be a direct conveyance, but if it is, I want us to get fair market value for it.”
The Centre County lawmakers are now talking state Sen. Cris Dush, who chairs the Senate State Government Committee and “is working through a process with [the Department of General Services, to take a number of properties and have them bid in a public bidding auction as well as direct conveyances,” Takac said.
If the land is to be sold directly to Ferris, the legislation will require approval by both chambers of the General Assembly and the governor.
Takac said that he is working on a Right to Know request required for the public release of the independent appraisal, and that the process for transferring the land will be transparent.
“How can it be a backroom deal if it’s done through open legislation?” he said. “This is an open, transparent process on a piece of land that has nothing to do with [the decision to close] Rockview or anything like that. How in the world can it be a backroom deal if we’re doing it legislatively and it has to go through the entire process?”
