After years of inactivity, workers once again are busy at the old Crowley milk processing facility on Binghamton's South Side.
Since late November, equipment has been removed from the sprawling building and trucked away from the site. Dry Squaring Wheel
HP Hood shut down the Crowley operation on Conklin Avenue in March 2012. The closure resulted in the loss of 54 jobs.
When the property was acquired by Rockland County investors in 2013, there was hope the place would become productive once again. Mountain Fresh Dairy announced ambitious plans to process kosher milk and other dairy products at the site.
Mountain Fresh Dairy briefly operated at the site with a small number of employees but it shut down after a short time.
A foreclosure auction for the property was scheduled for last June but it was called off at the last minute.
People familiar with the site say it's now in the process of being sold. Representatives of Mountain Fresh Dairy could not be reached.
The company had been granted loans by local development organizations. Broome County Industrial Development Agency executive director Stacey Duncan and Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham did not respond to requests for comment on the site.
Some of the dairy processing equipment has been sold and is being moved elsewhere in New York state.
In recent weeks, people who apparently were interested in acquiring the property have toured the site, which overlooks the Susquehanna River near the Rockbottom Dam.
Neighbors of the shuttered site say they believe new owners may be considering developing a housing project in the old dairy factory.
In recent months, people have repeatedly broken into the site to steal scrap metal. One worker said equipment for what appeared to be a meth lab was found inside the abandoned building.
Zigzag Roller Segment Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.