From lockup to lumberyard
Westbury Lumber was deeded the neighboring prison to expand its hardwoods business in Red Creek, N.Y.
In a year filled with devastating fires and other bad news for the lumber industry, it’s great to hear a positive story: Westbury Lumber of Red Creek, N.Y., is going to prison. No, really.
The Butler Correctional Facility has been closed for more than a decade, serving no purpose other than incarcerating a lot of weeds. Meanwhile, Westbury Lumber has been working on expansion plans for some time. And, with the prison literally in its backyard, as the Google Maps view below shows, the property made for the perfect deal between the lumber company and the state of New York.
In early July, Empire State Development transferred the 200-acre prison to the Wayne Co. (N.Y.) Industrial Development Agency. The WCIDA, in turn, deeded the property to Westbury Lumber, a move the agency has favored for two years.
The 30-year-old Westbury Lumber produces hardwood lumber for cabinet, millwork and flooring manufacturers throughout the Northeast. Their immediate plans are to use the old lockup for lumber and log storage, as well as general expansion. After an evaluation of existing structures, the company hopes to repurpose satisfactory buildings for business use. Unsuitable buildings will provide ready-to-go concrete pads for new structures. With the eventual goal of expanding into international distribution, future plans for the facility include logger training and the addition of kilns.
This is a perfect example of business and government — on both the state and county level — working together to better state and local economies by developing jobs, economic progress, and investing in growing industries. More than that, it represents a complete reversal of the site’s identity.
Now, instead of holding people, the property will hold lumber. Instead of being a dead end, it will become part of a growing business. And instead of locking things in, the old prison may help Westbury Lumber, Wayne Co., and the state of New York open the doors to a much bigger future.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.
