The New York state prison in Watertown was closed in 2021 — without any weather protection. So, as the state begins to look for someone wanting to repurpose it, many wonder what condition it is in.

While Spectrum News 1 cameras were not allowed inside, one state lawmaker shared some photos and details.

What You Need To Know

  • State Assemblyman Scott Gray recently toured the inside of the former Watertown Correctional Facility, sharing photos with Spectrum News 1

  • The state is currently looking for developers to come to it with a plan to turn the prison into housing, with the state offering up to $8 million in funding

  • Gray, however, says developers on the tour with him believed the $8 million would be nothing and the project would require massive amounts of money

“We knew that these were going to be tough facilities to repurpose because of the massive size of them,” state Assemblyman Scott Gray said.

Since 2011, New York state has closed 24 prisons. This year, it will close two more.

While a handful have been repurposed or plans are set to do so, not all are that far along, including prisons in Ogdensburg and Watertown.

Assemblyman Gray represents both Ogdensburg and Watertown. When Ogdensburg's prison was closed, the heat was left on to protect it from the winter. However, Watertown was what's known as a "cold close."

“There's no utilities whatsoever in those buildings. Going through the freeze and the thaw and the winters, they've really aged those buildings,” Gray said.

The good news is that the state is now requesting proposals to redevelop the Watertown site. But the bad news, according to Gray, is what he saw when he took a tour of the facility with some developers.

“You've got all the fencing, you've got the razor wire, you've got all kinds of things that have to be demolished and disassembled and taken out of there,” Gray added.

Gray shared pictures while also describing not only the damage inside, but also concerns with roofs and mold.

“One of the main concerns is probably going to be mold in those buildings. So, as you know, it's substantial when you do a cold close like that,” Gray said.

As part of the state's plan for redevelopment, developers can apply for up to $8 million of funding. However, after the tour — and considering there are old abandoned Air Force buildings on site — Gray says he's not sure how far that will actually go.

“As one developer told me, $8 million is is a drop in the bucket for this place. It'll swallow it up in a minute,” he said.

Gray says the lesson he's taking away from touring the Watertown site is that he wants repurposing possibilities and costs to be a part of any closing decision, not a consideration after the fact.

“We should have a study of every prison across the state in terms of the condition, in terms of the projected investment it will take from the state to do repurposing of that facility,” Gray added.

The state's request for proposal for the 108-acre Watertown site is encouraging the development of housing in a mix of unit size and affordability ranges. Proposals from interested developers are due Aug. 30.