A dude ranch? Resort? Scout camp?
Nobody's sure what the soon-to-close Summit Shock prison will be, if anything at all.
The last of the 134 inmates left the prison in early August, barely five weeks after Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that Summit was one of seven state prisons that would close.
Of the 50 corrections officers, 44 have been reassigned new jobs in the prison system. Decisions on the other six, along with 42 civilian employees, will be made by September 1, according to Peter Cutler of the state Department of Correctional Services (DOCS).
Summit Shock is slated to officially close October 1.
What then?
Mr. Cutler said DOCS will work with the state Office of General Services, which manages state properties, and the community "to determine what the potential re-use will be."
Community leaders, he added, will have a large role in "what they'd like to see there."
Summit Shock is about 29 acres with 37 buildings, which includes everything from large dormitories to sheds, Mr. Cutler said.
The total square footage of the buildings is 82,000.
The entire 29 acres would not be up for sale. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has title to the property and the surrounding 1,500 acres of state land.
DEC would retain 11 of the 29 acres--above the prison itself--and the buildings on that parcel, according to Michael Bopp, a DEC spokesman.
The remaining 18 acres would revert to the Office of General Services to manage and market, Mr. Bopp said.
"The goal is to find an acceptable re-use," Mr. Cutler said. "A sale is possible. If someone comes up with a bona fide idea, that's great.
"In Summit, we hope to find something beneficial to the community."
The community, however, is hazy about what's at the prison. The Office of General Services turned down a request for local officials to tour the prison while inmates were there, according to county Planning Director Alicia Terry.
"We have an opportunity to work with the state, but everyone knows we need that tour," Ms. Terry said.
Summit Shock does have its assets, she added, including a dependable water supply, its own wastewater system, commercial kitchen and laundry and accommodations for 230.
But it's also isolated, being deep in the woods four miles from Route 10.
Other prisons the state is closing are more advantageously located and are more conducive to re-development, Ms. Terry said.
"Could it be a seasonal resort?" she asked. "It's hard to say."
One prominent Summit resident pointed out that a resort or camp might be marginal. The former Lakeview House on nearby Summit Lake couldn't survive a weak economy, the person pointed out.
Both Assemblyman Pete Lopez and Mr. Cutler said the obligation for finding a re-use--and a possible buyer--falls on the Office of General Services, which Mr. Bopp of DEC confirmed.
Mr. Bopp added that the process "won't happen by the weekend.
"There are several steps to the process and like any land transfer, there's a timetable," he said.
The Office of General Services did not provide information.
And even as the prison quickly winds down, Assemblyman Lopez is not giving up on keeping it open.
He's lobbying Assembly leaders and the Governor in one last try to keep Summit Shock open.
"It's a very slender reed. It's a reach," Assemblyman Lopez said. "It all boils down to the mercy of the Governor."