OLM, D’urso Pavilion now luxury rentals

OLM, D’urso Pavilion now luxury rentals

A long-time white elephant that stood vacant on Pelham Parkway South will soon find new life as rental apartments.

The empty building at 1870 Pelham Parkway South at St. Paul Avenue, was most recently the planned Plummer Pavilion and for years both Pelham Bay General Hospital and then Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center’s Florence D’urso Pavilion.

Portman Inc. Realty is now advertising the building as the Pelham Grand, a luxury apartment building.

A representative from the company would not comment on the building or the apartments for rent, but a sign stating “rentals available today” was placed outside the building entrance on Monday, May 7.

The space was set in 2009 to be used as the Plummer Pavilion, a luxury $4,000 to $5,000 a month assisted-living facility, but fell victim to the recession.

After the operator of Plummer Pavilion went into default, the building sat vacant for about a year.

It has now been completely renovated into luxury rental apartments.

Anita Valenti, president of the Pelham Bay Tax Payers said she wishes the new operators luck.

“Plummer Pavilion didn’t have any luck,” Valenti said. “In these economic times, it’s tough. It has been vacant for very many years and I hope it works out.”

Valenti said it is hard to say whether the rentals will work out this time around.

“I don’t really know which clientele they are going to be renting to,” she said. “It’s really close to the subway, so that’s an advantage for people who work in Manhattan, but I really have no clue if he will be able to rent it.”

The realty company boasts that the space will include a laundry room, a jacuzzi room, a fitness center, a resident lounge, private storage, on-site parking and roof deck.

Renters will be allotted a space in the on-site parking lot for a fee.

As of Friday, May 11, most local residents did not know the building was slated to a rental.

Sharon Cohen, who lives about two blocks from the apartment building, did not know it was converted into a luxury apartments building and didn’t have a problem with it, she said.

“I don’t really care,” Cohen said. “I have a car, and I don’t think it will cause a problem with parking.”

Community Board 10 district manager Kenneth Kearns said he did not see any problems arising from the new apartments.

“I don’t think it will really effect parking in the area,” Kearns said. “There isn’t much of a problem now.”