Veterans center proposed for site of former SCI Greensburg

Three years after it was mothballed, new owners of a former state prison in Hempfield have quietly been rolling out plans to transform the massive complex into a full-service veterans' transition campus.

Westmoreland County commissioners attended a meeting last week at the former SCI Greensburg to learn about Veterans Sunrise Center, a proposed $150 million rehabilitation center. Carlisle businessman David Goldsmith wants to open the center on the 96-acre property he bought last year.

“It's an ambitious plan and certainly a worthy one, but they have a long way to get there,” Commissioner Ted Kopas said. “When and if they get to the point where we can be helpful, we'll look at it.”

He and Commissioner Charles Anderson met Thursday at the 300,000-square-foot facility with Steve Jecker, a representative of Goldsmith's company. The commissioners said Jecker described a plan that was largely conceptual and did not ask for anything from the county.

Jecker declined to discuss the proposal with the Tribune-Review, saying it is too early in the process.

Goldsmith, who did not attend the meeting, did not return a call seeking comment.

State and local veterans groups as well as local economic development officials said they have not heard about the plans.

Goldsmith's company in August launched a website that features a nearly five-minute video with aerial footage of the former prison property and renderings of how it would be repurposed.

An article in the fall edition of the trade publication Who's Who in Building & Construction provided details of Goldsmith's proposed project — including its cost, an assembled team of development and construction managers from Texas and Louisiana, a timeline with work starting this fall and continuing for two to three years and a goal to help about 1,500 veterans each year.

Greensburg Veterans Sunrise Center is envisioned to include a medical treatment facility, a fitness center and gym and housing for veterans and their families. In addition to medical and rehab services, the center would provide counseling, family support, job training and other transitional services, the article stated.

Ben Stahl, executive director of the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania, said he had heard nothing about the project.

“But there's definitely a need for transitional services for veterans, and the scope of that is proportional to the number of veterans here. Western Pennsylvania has nearly 250,000 veterans in the Pittsburgh area,” he said.

Allegheny County has the largest veteran population in the state with 106,384, while Westmoreland has 32,024.

Officials with the Pennsylvania American Legion said nothing on the scale Goldsmith has proposed exists anywhere in the state — which is home to nearly 1 million veterans, one of the largest populations in the nation.

“There's definitely a need for that,” said Pennsylvania Legion department adjutant Kit Watson. “There are not enough services for the vets who are just being discharged. And transitional services are important. There are people who have been in the military for so long that it's not an easy transition to civilian life.”

Watson said the project could be beneficial “depending on who does it.”

It remains unclear where Goldsmith would get funding for the project and who would run the center if the plan comes to fruition.

Repurposing prisons has become a daunting challenge in many communities across the country as states faced with declining prison populations have closed facilities and put them on the market.

In the “Building & Construction” article, Goldsmith said he considered about 10 possibilities for the Hempfield site before a former Uniontown man suggested a veterans center.

Public records show Goldsmith this year took out a $650,000 open-ended mortgage on the prison property. State officials previously said it cost about $2 million a year to maintain the shuttered facility.

The medium-security prison that once housed 960 inmates and employed a staff of 360 closed abruptly in June 2013.

Goldsmith purchased the prison at auction in February 2015 for $950,000 and later titled it to Verdant Holdings LLC.

The county assessed the property at $3.3 million, bringing township, school and county taxes to $330,000 a year.

Court records show a proposed settlement of an assessment appeal from Verdant that would reduce the site's assessed value to $188,000 for 2016 and $164,000 for 2017.

Although Goldsmith's company seeks property-tax relief, Kopas and Anderson said Jecker made no mention of financing plans for the proposed veterans' center.

The United States has spent 15 years in Afghanistan and Iraq, and there is no question the country faces an increasing need to provide the kind of services Goldsmith proposes, said Anderson, a retired Marine Corps colonel.

“Economic development, jobs — that's what it's all about. And what a wonderful benefit if they could help the vets. They have a vision, but they have an awful lot of wickets to go through,” Anderson said. “It's a win-win-win all the way around if these guys can pull it off. And I'd love to see them do it.”

Debra Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-320-7996 or derdley@tribweb.com.