Plans to sell closed western Pa. prison hit snag

ALTOONA (AP) — Plans to sell off a closed state prison near Altoona are running into difficulty over the sales price and other issues.

The Altoona Mirror reported (http://bit.ly/1BYSCdG ) Saturday that a local county official says the sale also is encountering related legal issues.

The State Correctional Institute at Cresson closed last year.

Cambria County Commissioner Douglas Lengenfelder tells the paper there’s an interested buyer, but time is of the essence.

The Pennsylvania prison system also put a shuttered prison in Greensburg up for sale this week.

The minimum bid for the former Greensburg State Prison is nearly $900,000.

Closing the facilities cost 500 jobs in Cambria County and about 360 in Westmoreland County.