The Erie County Home was once a bustling county-run nursing home in Alden that could serve more than 700 residents at any given time. The sprawling, 153-acre property contained its own water towers, generator buildings, expansive wings and dining facilities, even a stage for performances. The entire site, including the main building and adjacent structures, totals more than 600,000 square feet.
Now, all that's left is a musty colossus that occasionally attracts unwanted ghost hunters. The county may soon seal a new deal, however, to transfer the property to a private owner for $1, in order for vacant land there to be developed as an enclosed, $40 million industrial marijuana farm.
The Erie County Legislature will consider a new local law on Thursday, which would permit the transfer of 152 acres of property to a limited liability company operated by brothers Ryan and Luke Rich, scions of the well-known Rich family. The two men do not have any high-profile developments in Western New York but are partnered with other cannabis industry investors with similar operations in multiple states, including a "top-ranked" facility in New Jersey.
"We greatly appreciate the widespread support that the project has received thus far and are focused on the upcoming creation of New York State's premier cannabis cultivation, processing, and distribution facility," the brothers said in a statement to The Buffalo News.
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