Dilapidated New York tuberculosis hospital, vacant since 1973, hits the market

The 29-acre property west of Saratoga Springs is asking $250K

Saratoga County Homestead (Facebook, iStock, Illustration by Kevin Cifuentes for The Real Deal)
Saratoga County Homestead (Facebook, iStock, Illustration by Kevin Cifuentes for The Real Deal)

A 31,000-square-foot tuberculosis hospital west of Saratoga Springs, abandoned since 1973 and wreathed in vines and graffiti, is on the market for $250,000 – three years after the owner bought it at auction for $55,000.

Owner James Walk, a Texan, told the Times Union that he hopes to sell the Saratoga County Homestead in Providence, New York, to a local who could “give it the care it deserves.” He said the pandemic and travel restrictions are among the reasons he’s done with the project.

While the asking price may not sound high, even after quintupling in three years, renovations would cost far more, factoring in rising material and labor costs as inflation accelerates.

The property, which includes a caretaker’s cottage, ended up in the hands of the county after the previous owner stopped paying property taxes. Walk had plans to restore the former hospital and create a facility that could serve as a museum and veterans retreat.

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The Homestead opened in 1936 as a 100-bed brick sanatorium, with decorative moldings and marble columns. The hospital fell into disrepair in the half-century since it was shut down. Doors are missing, windows are broken and the hospital’s roof has caved in.

The abandoned hospital has leaned fully into its creepy status. The South Glens Falls Paranormal Society has provided the tours of the facility, which served as the setting of a 2004 Canadian horror film, “The Expedition.”

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[Times Union] — Holden Walter-Warner