Cleanup Underway at St. Luke Hospital Site

A month after City officials deemed the property a nuisance, things have improved at the St. Luke’s Hospital site.

“Within the last week the owner has relinquished control of the property to family members who have committed to cleaning up the property and rectifying the issues that resulted in citations,” said Pasadena Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian.

In June Pasadena Now reported that the building was surrounded by overgrown vegetation and rife with broken windows and doors, tagged with graffiti and a target of constant vandalism.

At that point the City was working to expedite legal recourse and compliance as soon as possible. Several City departments were working together to take quick action to bring the owner into compliance.

The owner, Mehdi Boulour of Denley Investments, purchased the property in 2007 and rented it out to film production companies for some time, but locals now allege the owner has neglected to take care of the building.

Derderian said Boulour is paying for the cleanup which was resulting in tangible results.

“It is private property and will require extensive and expensive work to restore it and bring it up to current building standards,” Derderian said. “Hopefully the owners invest in the property knowing it has such potential for many purposes.”

The hospital was built on the 11-acre site in 1933 and shut down in 2002 due to financial troubles. It has been vacant since it was shuttered and was used in several films.

In 2013 the hospital was briefly considered by the City as an urgent care facility, but that proposal never really got off the ground after officials deemed the location outdated.

The City briefly explored, as one of several options, using the site as an emergency facility during COVID-19 pandemic, but found the site unusable.

“We thank the public for their patience and emphasize there is a legal process involved and it takes time to gain compliance in these situations but we feel very confident that moving forward the owners will communicate and cooperate to make this a joint partnership,” Derderian said.