The former Lakeshore Hospital location in Irving has been sold. P-J file photo

IRVING — A New York-based private operator focused on the redevelopment of commercial and residential properites has purchased the former Lakeshore Hospital campus.

On Friday afternoon, Brooks-TLC Hospital System confirmed the sale to Gotham Asset Holdings, LLC. Though a price was not disclosed, it was previously listed at $1.9 million for the 172,00-square-foot facililty and 30-acre site when Brooks-TLC first indicated there was interest in the location last spring.

“It was important to our board of directors that this agreement was signed in collaboration with the town of Hanover,” said Ken Morris, Brooks-TLC president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “We are grateful to have worked through this process as partners with town officials, and reached an agreement which is favorable to all involved. This property has remained vacant since 2020 and it is important to develop this location bringing additional jobs and economic development to the area. At the start of this new year, the sale of this property comes at a good time.”

State Sen. George Borrello, who lives in Sunset Bay and was a vocal critic of Lakeshore’s sudden closure in February 2020, said the sale offers a potential boost to the community.

“After three years of being vacant, my hope is the sale of this facility will bring about a reuse that is beneficial to the entire region,” he said. “Myself and my partners in county and town government are still committed to bringing needed health-care services to the area.”

During a Hanover meeting this month, Town Board member Louis Pelletter noted his concerns regarding health care in the community. Pelletter also indicated he had reached out to WellNow Urgent Care with the hope of getting a medical treatment facility in the town.

“I told them if they want to come here, I will help them,” Pelletter said. “We have to have medical in the town. … We lost everything. We have no place to go. … I’m very concerned with public safety, obviously.”

With Lakeshore sold, Brooks-TLC continues to have designs on a new state-of-the-art hospital that would be built in Fredonia. Its current location at 529 Central Ave., Dunkirk, is affecting its viability as the site is oversized, out-of-date and needs constant maintenance.

A commission made up of local health leaders determined in the fall a new facility would reduce an annual deficits at Brooks-TLC from $1 million a month to $3 million per year. State Health Department officials, however, have yet to sign off on plans to allow construction to begin.

Starting in 2016, more than $74 million in state funding was set aside for the build. Brooks-TLC also was recently given a six-month reprieve from its deadline to complete the purchase on East Main Street land that is still owned by Cornell Cooperative Extension, which granted the extension.

Brooks-TLC said it continues to serve communities throughout northern Chautauqua County from its city location as well as outpatient services in Gowanda and chemical dependency centers in Cassadaga and Derby. Many of the employees from the Lakeshore campus remain with Brooks-TLC today.