The once-elegant brick building complex off North Broadway had sat empty and graffiti ridden ever since the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research pulled up stakes and moved to the less urbanized are of upstate Ithaca.
According to the lohud.com report, Simone Healthcare Development, which has undertaken a $35 million transformation of the formerly neglected site, has a number of new tenants lined up, including: St. John's Riverside Hospital, an Italian restaurant, a bank and a spa.
WESTMED, a medical group, also is said to be considering opening a second Yonkers location there, lohud.com reported.
According to hudsonvalleyruins.org, the main building and attached greenhouses were built by William Boyce Thompson in 1924 and designed by architect Frank Arnold Colby.
After the institute moved out, the building was leased and actively used until the late 1990s, when it was acquired by the city and the Board of Education, according to hudsonvalleyruins.org.
The city tried to stabilize the aging structure by removing hazardous materials and making other repairs, but while re-use plans waxed and waned, the building got shabbier and shabbier, the organization said.
Simone's president, Guy Leibler, told lohud.com it plans to plant flowers and vegetables at the site as a way of honoring the institute’s original mission.
To read the full lohud.com story, click here.
For more information on the building complex’s history, click here.
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