State Sen. Jake Corman has introduced legislation that would transfer 32 acres of state-owned land near Rockview state prison in Benner Township to the Centre County Industrial Development Corp.

The land, split into two 16- acre parcels, will be used to supplement the CCIDCowned Benner Commerce Park, a 233-acre industrial park near the interchange of Interstate 99 and state Route 150, according to Corman and Dave Wise, CCIDC chief financial officer.

“We’re excited to complement the land that’s in Benner Commerce Park with these two pieces and we are looking toward developing it,” Wise said.

Corman, RBenner Township, introduced the legislation as Senate Bill 1291 on Oct. 14. Under the bill, the CCIDC — a subsidiary of the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County — would pay $241,861 for the two parcels.

“It was a request from them, and they will pay fair market value for it,” Corman said. “No one else was interested in it, and it’s pretty clear and obvious the best use for it is commercial. So they’ll develop it and hopefully get some businesses and new jobs in there.”

Roughly half of the Benner Commerce Park is shovel ready, and the park is already home to one tenant, Cleveland Brothers, though Sierra Nevada Brewing looked at building its East Coast distribution and bottling facility in the park earlier this year.

The additional land will be made available for development of businesses that don’t meet the stricter zoning standards of the park. Possible tenants could include hotels, restaurants, banks, a conference center and other retail uses, Wise said.

“It would be a real variety of complementary business services that don’t fit in the industrial zoning that exists in the park but would be very important amenities to have nearby,” he said.

The bill has been in the works for more than a year, and besides Corman, state Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Lock Haven, and the county commissioners were also involved in shaping the legislation, Wise said.

Commissioner Jon Eich, who has proposed using the land for a radio tower for emergency communications, said he had no problem with the legislation.

“I still have an interest in (using) a piece of the land up there for strengthening our 911 system, but pretty much any one of the (remaining) parcels available there will do,” he said.

Corman said he didn’t expect to encounter difficulty in passing the bill soon.

Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928.