"We think it's the best use of the property," the spokeswoman said. "We think that it's the greatest value for the school district and that it's going to provide the best service for the community."
The new practice would open in what was once the Number Six School in Woodmere. The school closed three years ago. Mount Sinai already operates outpatient facilities in Queens and farther east on the island in Suffolk County though North Shore Medical Group.
Simone has a track record of acquiring and developing office space for the healthcare industry. At a state auction more than a decade ago, for example, the real-estate developer snapped up a derelict former residential treatment center along the Hutchinson Parkway in the Bronx. It converted that building to a Class-A office property and built another tower next door. Today that 42-acre office park, known as Hutchinson Metro Center, holds tenants ranging from the Visiting Nurse Service of New York to several medical offices.