Rudin: St. Vincent's Project Still in Play

NEW YORK CITY-The planned closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital marks “a difficult day for the West Village and the people at St. Vincent’s with whom we’ve worked closely for the past three years,” William Rudin tells GlobeSt.com. But he adds that this doesn’t spell the end of redevelopment plans there.

Rudin Management and St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers had forged an agreement in 2007 to build a larger, inpatient facility on the west side of Seventh Avenue and also redevelop part of the hospital’s campus on the avenue’s east side as a residential project. The agreement seemed to be in jeopardy after the St. Vincent’s board announced Tuesday evening that a heavy debt load and operating losses have forced them to close the Manhattan hospital.

“The Rudins are committed to working with all of the stakeholders to come up with a viable alternative plan to create an appropriate healthcare facility and to continue with the development on the east campus,” says Rudin, president of the family-owned company. “We’re waiting for the state to issue their RFP that would outline what they’re looking for in terms of a new healthcare facility for St. Vincent’s. When we all see that, we’ll analyze it” and proceed from there. He adds that it’s not certain when that RFP will be issued.

However, Rudin says the plan for St. Vincent’s to sell his company eight of its buildings for $310 million, four of which would be razed and replaced by an apartment tower and some low-rise townhouses, was not changing. “We have Landmarks Preservation Commission approval for our plan to put up four new buildings,” he says. “We think that’s still viable.”

In a statement, the St. Vincent’s board says its vote will be followed by submission of a closure plan to the state Department of Health. Pursuant to the plan, all St. Vincent’s patients will be “discharged or transferred to nearby non-affiliated hospitals, as appropriate,” according to the statement.