Hospital changes hands; housing an option By BRYAN F. YURCAN

Hospital changes hands; housing an option
By BRYAN F. YURCAN

Unicorn Contracting, a private development company in Elmsford, has purchased the Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Hospital for $2 million.

The 5.7-acre property in Cold Spring had been put up for sale by owner Hudson Valley Hospital Center via “request for proposal.” The property includes the vacant building of the former Butterfield Hospital and the Carolyn Lahey Pavilion, an outpatient medical facility.

The conditions of the sale agreement state that Hudson Valley Hospital Center will continue to operate the medical center, which houses several physician practices, laboratory and radiology services and physical therapy, according to the hospital.

Over the last 14 years, Hudson Valley Hospital Center invested a total $5 million to maintain the Butterfield property, including the complete renovation of the Carolyn Lahey Pavilion in 1996, according to the center.

Hudson Valley Hospital Center first entered into a management agreement with Butterfield Hospital in 1993 in an effort to restore financial stability to the then-failing facility. However, with the approval of the New York State Department of Health, the 36-bed hospital closed in 1995 due to insufficient patient volume and continued financial losses.

The chairman of the board of Hudson Valley Hospital Center, Edward B. MacDonald said Unicorn was the right developer for the project.

“I am confident that Unicorn Contracting will not only meet the needs of residents, but will be a true community asset and new source of tax revenue for the village without creating a burden for existing services,” he said. “This has been our hope since the beginning.”

Senior housing and related services may be considered for the Butterfield site as the adjacent Carolyn Lahey Pavilion provides access to health-care services and senior apartments and a pharmacy are located right across the street on Route 9D.

“It is our hope that there will be health-care services on the property that would honor the memory of Julia Butterfield,” states Mark Webster, vice president of fiscal services at Hudson Valley Hospital Center.

Union Contracting recently completed a series of townhouses at the Cold Spring village waterfront, where a lumberyard had previously stood vacant for years.

Reader Comments

Please send us your comments!

Add Your Comments