By Jane Anderson
Times Herald-Record
Posted Dec 19, 2019 at 9:12 PM
WARWICK — The Town of Warwick is moving forward on improving the former Mid-Orange Correctional Facility with plans to convert the old Manor House on its grounds into an incubator space for companies in the burgeoning CBD oil industry.
Bids are being sought to renovate the 1800s-era three-story, roughly 10,000-square-foot building on State School Road, off of Kings Highway. The “incubator/accelerator” will contain six “pods” on the first floor for start-up companies related to the hemp compound cannabidiol, or CBD, according to town Supervisor Michael Sweeton. The second floor will house a conference room, job-training classrooms and shared office space, Sweeton added. The Orange County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) will manage the incubator/accelerator.
“The Wickham Manor House project is the next chapter in what has been a successful transition of the former Mid-Orange Correctional Facility from a prison to a revenue-driving, job-creating, infrastructure-building accelerator that focuses on CBD processing,” said Laurie Villasuso, CEO of the Orange County IDA. “The Wickham Manor House will house six to eight businesses that will hire local employees and use the CBD to create safe, quality product.”
The former prison site — a 726-acre property, half of which is wetlands — was bought by the town about five years ago. In addition to hemp processing, the property is home to the town’s Wickham Woodlands Park and the Hudson Sports Complex.
Details on the Manor House plans can be found at townofwarwick.org.
