Smith-Wade-El community redevelopment bill signed into law
Central PA Delegation July 21, 2026 | 2:15 PM
HARRISBURG, July 21– Legislation to authorize the Pennsylvania Department of General Services to transfer the former Witmer Infirmary property in Millersville, Lancaster County, to a nonprofit group was signed into law Monday by Gov. Josh Shapiro, the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El, D-Lancaster, announced.
House Bill 2559, now Act 40 of 2026, will enable Student Lodging, Inc. to demolish the vacant Witmer Infirmary property and convert the site into a surface parking lot to serve students and the broader Millersville community, supporting the planned mixed-use development on the adjacent property.
The legislation would also authorize other vacant state-owned properties to be returned to productive use while preserving protections for host communities:
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- a former nursing home on Girard Avenue in Philadelphia to the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
- a parcel adjacent to I-99 in Centre County to Ferris Land Development.
- the Peace Church in Cumberland County to Friends of Peace Church.
- portions of the former Danville State Hospital to the Borough of Danville.
- part of the former Eastern Pa. Psychiatric Institute on Henry Avenue in Philadelphia to Gaudenzia Foundation.
“The transfer of these state properties to nonprofit organizations and other community partners will bring many benefits to our local communities, including historic preservation, community revitalization and blight reduction,” Smith-Wade-El said. “I am particularly excited that this legislation will add to our housing stock at a time when people are struggling to find affordable housing.”
More information is available by contacting Smith-Wade-El’s Lancaster office at 717-283-4218, or his Harrisburg office at 717-772-0752.