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Someone really does not want to share what their plan was for the Norristown State Hospital redevelopment.
Last December, Norristown Council selected a mixed use concept from PRDC as part of a public bidding process. Five companies expressed interest in the potential financial windfall of redeveloping 68 acres, gifted from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
It appears that public is a concept that one of the bidders, Von International Concepts LLC, does not understand quite well. Von’s lawyers have challenged an open records request from Montco 30% Project that asked for access to the proposals submitted to Norristown Council. Four of the firms complied with the request because – after all – they were seeking a government contract on ground that was once a sprawling state hospital.
Why, one might ask, the secrecy?
A picture from the PRDC proposal is shown here.
Von’s lawyer, Lawrence Hambrect Esq., stated that the information was highly proprietary and contained privileged, confidential trade secrets. He also accused MC 30 of being a “developer.”
In a letter to Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, Hambrect wrote: “Said proposal was submitted with the understanding between Mr. (Scott) Shindler, Von International, and the Norristown Redevelopment Authority that it was in its entirety privileged intellectual property that would be fully returned and/or destroyed subsequent to the Request for Proposal process.”
The Pennsylvania OOR listened to his appeal, which was filed with the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority listed as the official party (the MCRA oversaw the entire bidding process).
Von International, based out of Chalfont, lost and is now appealing the OOR decision. So, that means more of your tax dollars will be wasted on an open records challenge that they are bound to lose.
You have a right to know who is bidding on public land, and in this case, which concepts were passed over by Norristown Council in favor of the PRDC’s Preserve at Stony Creek.
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