The State Correctional Institution at Rockview will close in a few months, and a Penn State spokesman said the university is interested in how the property will be used in the future, given its proximity to the University Park campus.
"We hope to be part of the conversations exploring how the property can best be used to serve the Centre Region," said Wyatt DuBois, a Penn State spokesman, in an email to WPSU.
Many in the community are wondering what will happen to the nearly 5,700 acres of land at the prison.
Speaking earlier this week at a press conference, state Rep. Dallas Kephart said he’s heard speculation about who could buy the land if the state decides to sell it.
“What I hear constantly is 'Penn State's going to buy that land,'" Kephart said, adding, "Penn State's never said anything to me about buying the land. I don't know.”
The press conference was focused on legislation Kephart and others plan to introduce to increase the transparency of potential sales of state prison lands. The bill will require oversight by the state attorney general and disclosure of all bids and bidders to the public.
Penn State acquired more than 400 acres of land from Rockview in 2010, including parts of the Spring Creek Canyon. Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences uses that land for research.
