OGDENSBURG, New York (WWNY) – The state continued its tour of closed north country prisons Friday. This time, local leaders in St. Lawrence County got a chance to tour Ogdensburg Correctional Facility.
The state closed the prison this past spring. It was 36 percent full, having the lowest prison population out of the remaining prisons in the north country.
“A lot of us were strongly opposed in closing the prison and still are but we are open to new ideas,” said Jim Reagen, District 1 Legislator.
Reagen went on the tour. He says many of the buildings are still in great shape but he feels the biggest problem will be the actual sale of the complex given property values are different across the state.
“Up here, there is no market for these buildings and the cost of rehabilitation is limited,” he said.
The state is making this push for reuse after the governor created the Prison Redevelopment Commission, a panel charged with figuring out what to do with closed state prisons.
While state representatives were in town, local leaders also asked them to come to the old St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center, which has been vacant for decades.
“There are a lot of buildings there that have decayed over the years and we have transferred two pieces of property through legislation that I sponsored that we are still trying to get over the finish line so it was great to have the state here,” said State Senator Patty Ritchie (R. – 48th District).
She says those two pieces of legislation would be the easiest for the state to start with seeing as the St. Lawrence River could be an attractable business decision.
“It’s pristine riverfront so it would be shocking to think that somebody is not going to be interested,” said Ritchie.
As for the prison, she says in the condition it’s in, they want to continue to keep the heat on the commission so it may be easier to find a potential buyer.
On Thursday, officials toured the Watertown Correctional Facility, which the state closed in March 2021.
Copyright 2022 WWNY. All rights reserved.
