The Mayview State Hospital property will fetch only $505,505, but the sale could still set a positive precedent if a bill introduced by state Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon, is passed.

Mr. Pippy, a chairman of the Mayview Land Reuse Task Force, introduced legislation that would earmark the proceeds for mental health care in the region once served by Mayview.

"While we're all disappointed in the price, we need to go forward," task force member Mary Fleming said. "What's really important is getting something done in terms of a precedent."

The task force held its final meeting Thursday night, a week and a half after signing an agreement to sell the property to Aloe Brothers LLC of Mount Washington. Aloe submitted the higher of two bids brought in by a nationwide marketing campaign.

Task force members speculated that other potential bidders were put off by the site's 39 buildings, which are between 40 and 100 years old, laden with asbestos and mostly due to be destroyed.

"I did reach out myself to a number of developers, and they did take a look at it but did not put bids in," task force member and South Fayette commissioner Deron Gabriel said.

Mr. Pippy noted that an exhaustive appraisal ended up valuing the property at a negative $5.2 million, with the $13 million estimated cost of remediating the buildings more than offsetting the $7.8 million value of the land.

Considering the negative valuation, "I think we did pretty well," he said.

One topic that remains uncertain is what would happen if Aloe -- which made its name in the coal exploration business -- wanted to extract coal from the property or drill for natural gas.

The state will retain mineral rights in the sale; several advocates said that if it were mined or drilled, part of the proceeds also should go toward mental health care.

Mr. Pippy said he was unsure of the law, but would look into it.

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