Residents and city officials have deemed the abandoned St. Luke Hospital in Pasadena a public nuisance as a spike in criminal activity continues plaguing the dilapidated building.
The once historic 11-acre site was built in 1933 and shuttered in 2002 due to financial troubles, remaining vacant since.
Locals say the building is not only an eyesore but is a hotbed for illegal activity while threatening public safety.
The abandoned hospital has grown into a state of disarray, with broken windows and doors, tons of graffiti and vandalism along with overgrown weeds and plants. The site has been attracting vandals and squatters, locals said.
A developer, identified as Mehdi Boulour of Denley Investments, purchased the property in 2007 and rented it out to film production companies for some time, but locals said the owner later neglected to take care of the building.
City officials want Boulour to clean up the property but said he has remained uncooperative.
“He’s responsive at first, but has not taken any action,” said Lisa Derderian, a Pasadena city spokesperson, of Boulour. “He has a very nonchalant attitude, that the city is going to take care of this for him, that the city should be patrolling it. We‘ve responded here 80 times since January for police-related incidents.”
The city has cited Boulour for numerous violations over the property’s deterioration and said he could also be liable for unlawful or criminal activity over incidents taking place onsite. So far, however, officials said they have not received any response or contact from Boulour.
“He is notorious for an L.A. property, I believe in Claremont, so this is his MO,” said Derderian. “We have a process in place to take legal recourse and we are taking action on that now. Unfortunately, it’s not a quick process.”
Boulour had previous run-ins with the law after he pled no contest to criminal charges following a 2018 LAPD raid at a Hollywood building he owned where drugs and weapons were seized. The offices in that building were being illegally rented as apartments at the time, officials said.
Boulour has an ongoing insurance claim against the city for $7 million for damages with plans to use that money for repairs. City officials have told Boulour that he is not allowed to wait indefinitely to make those repairs.
KTLA reached out to Boulour for comment but has not heard back.