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A one-time tuberculosis hospital will have new life as a retreat for war veterans - if the property's new owner sees his plans come to fruition.
Saratoga County Homestead, a decrepit former sanatorium in upstate New York, was put up on Auctions International by county officials. The county-owned property has long been rumored to be haunted, and it's a popular spot for paranormal "tourists," despite the hazardous condition of the long-abandoned building.
James Walk of Texas placed the winning bid of $55,100 before the auction closed on August 28, 2019. Now, he says he intends to renovate the ruinous property and turn it into a retreat for veterans.
The decrepit asylum (and the caretaker's house on the same land) remained untouched for 46 years.
The Saratoga County Homestead was once owned by Bruce Houran, a man based in Florida, according to the Daily Gazette. After the owner failed to keep up with the property taxes, Saratoga County took ownership of the former hospital.
The county put the property up for auction. Despite needing massive renovations, a bidding war erupted.
It's also a popular spot for paranormal enthusiasts and abandoned site explorers, given its rumored hauntings. These "guests" have also covered the building in graffiti.
Bidding closed on August 28, 2019. The Homestead sold to a Texas-based man named James Walk, who pledged the winning bid of $55,100 under the username "jwalk2515."
One county official, Providence Supervisor Sandra Winney, told the Times Union that she was glad the county no longer had ownership of the property: "So many kids would go up there because they thought it was haunted. I was worried someone would get hurt."
In fact, officials had sealed off the "haunted hospital" in March 2012, after the January death of a high school student in a car accident just down the road from the former infirmary.
Providence's volunteer firefighters told reporters for the Daily Gazette that the teens wouldn't have been in the area if not for the decrepit building.
Walk, who never saw the property in person before shelling out $55,100 for it, told the Daily Gazette that he'd like to turn it into a retreat for war veterans.
"I just looked as it as a serene place, [a] place where veterans could come," Walk told the Gazette. "Like most things in life, I strive for something that exceeds my grasp. I work for a large company, and one of the bosses' mottos is, if you believe it and work at it, it will happen."
Walk is a veteran of the Iraq War.
"I looked at it and the first thing I saw was beautiful old architecture, it was a historic building and I wanted to restore that sense of something grand," he said. "I was looking for land, but not necessarily a project this big."
"I realize [the restoration] might not be finished in my lifetime, [but] I will be the person to start it," said Walk, who still lives in Texas but expects to relocate to New York in the future.
