By Jessica Parks, Philadelphia Inquirer
NORRISTOWN The Montgomery County commissioners on Thursday moved ahead with plans to sell the Parkhouse geriatric center in Royersford and the Human Services Center in Norristown by authorizing the retirement of $19.75 million in outstanding debt on the two properties.
About $13 million of that is for the Human Services Center, and $6.75 million is for Parkhouse, said chief finance officer Uri Monson.
The sales are not yet complete, but Monson said the county must notify bondholders in advance if it wants to pay off the debt early.
Parkhouse, which is being sold to a private nursing-home company based out of Maryland, is still in the due diligence phase. Commissioners Chairman Josh Shapiro said the sale is on track to close Jan. 31.
The Human Services Center is in final review and should close in mid- to late January, Shapiro said.
The sale of the two complexes would reduce the county's outstanding debt by 4.6 percent, to $407 million. On an annual basis, the county's debt service would drop about $1 million, Monson said.
A group of residents opposed to the sale of Parkhouse - and in particular, the inclusion of about 200 acres of surrounding undeveloped land - is planning another protest on Saturday in Norristown.