Last week, it was reported that Councilman Bobby Henon has temporarily withdrawn his proposal to buy land at 7777R State Road for future use as a prison site. He said he plans to raise the issue again in the fall, and has formed a “Prison Reform Working Group” on Council to agitate further for the purchase. But before City Council considers Councilman Henon's plan, it should make sure that some questions are answered.
Should the city build a new prison? Henon worries that a court will order the City to build one, but none has done so yet. There are many other uses for the City's money, and no public outcry for a prison. Moreover, Council and the Mayor just raised property taxes because the City can't pay for its current operations.
Where will Henon find the money to buy the property, and then the vastly larger amount that would be needed to build a prison? Henon has claimed that the land will cost more if the city buys it in the future. But even assuming for the sake of argument that buying this land is the best option, it's not clear that its price will rise. Nor is it clear that diverting money from the City's budget away from some other use to buy land that will likely sit unused and off the tax list for years is the best use of the City's resources.
Moreover, would the City even need to buy land to build a prison? Perhaps the city already owns suitable land. Henon hasn't addressed this in a comprehensive way. He has referred to a few sites which he says won't work, such as the site of the former Holmesburg Prison and of the Riverview facility for infirm prisoners. But his arguments don't really rule out those sites, or, more importantly, any other site. The city owns a great deal of property within its limits. Before it buys any more land, taking it off the tax list, it should make sure its inventory doesn't include land well-suited for use for a prison.
If a prison is to be built on purchased land, is 7777R State Road the best choice? It's unclear what's special about this parcel, or whether the price is right. At present, no one else seems to want the land at the price Henon proposes to pay. People living near the proposed site don't seem pleased by Henon's plan. But although they are the Councilman's constituents, their concerns haven't moved him to reconsider. He appears to
Who owns the company from which the City would buy the property? "7777 Philadelphia, PA Loan, LLC" bought the parcel on January 23, 2014 for $100, which the City would buy for more than $7.2 million. Henon hasn't disclosed the company's beneficial owners' identities (in other words, the people who would be entitled to take from the company the money the City would pay to 7777 Philadelphia, PA Loan, LLC to buy the land). But the public should know who'd make such a large return at taxpayer expense.
The property had been the site of a failed housing development scheme, whose principals defaulted on their loan. The lending bank, BNP Paribas, bought the property at a sheriff's sale. Henon's website says that the property then fell into the hands of 7777 Philadelphia, PA Loan, LLC after the bank “assign[ed] the bid” to them, but he does not state whether this company is owned entirely by the bank, or whether its shares are held by others. Whether the bank or someone else owns the property, further questions must be answered. If the bank does indeed own 7777 Philadelphia, PA Loan, LLC, is the transaction intended mainly to bail out the bank at taxpayer expense for making a bad loan? If someone else owns 7777 Philadelphia, PA Loan, LLC, would they be unjustly enriched by this deal? Presumably, Henon knows who the beneficial owner or owners of the property are. He should disclose their identities in a verifiable way. In the unsavory context of Philadelphia politics, the secret identity of the property's real owner or owners only adds the reasons for suspecting that Henon's proposed deal would do a disservice to the public interest.
Answering these questions may take time, but the City can afford to wait. If the answers are no good, it should keep waiting indefinitely.
