Avon Property Will Be Home of NY Blood Center

The Avon property, at the corner of Midland and Peck Avenues, will be the new home for the New York Blood Center. NYBC is a nonprofit blood bank that supplies blood to approximately 200 hospitals in the Northeast United States.

Avon, who had used the property since the early 1950s, announced it would sell the building in 2018. George Comfort & Sons, whose CEO Peter S. Duncan is a Rye resident, bought the building in 2019.

George Comfort & Sons worked with law firm McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt, LLP and its partner Steven Wrabel in obtaining zoning and planning commission approvals for the new use of the property at 601 Midland Avenue. Some residents had expressed concerns about the rezoning of the property. Wrabel and his firm are also working with The Osborn retirement home on its expansion plans.

The property was formerly used as a warehouse and distribution center for Avon and was later converted into Avon’s data center and accompanying office space. The building will now serve as office and laboratory space for the New York Blood Center, a supplier of life-saving transfusion products to hospitals in the greater New York metropolitan region.

“McCullough, Goldberger and Staudt LLP assistance was invaluable to us helping to obtain the necessary approvals to make this project a reality,’’ said Peter S. Duncan, CEO of George Comfort & Sons, a principal of Midland Rye LLC. “We believe the new use will greatly benefit the community, converting a formerly vacant office building into an attractive and beneficial use.’’

McCullough attorney Wrabel said the approvals enabled Midland Rye LLC to attract a quality tenant to a vacant site and revitalize an underused commercial property for the City of Rye. “We are thrilled with this positive result, and are excited to have the opportunity to work on such a great project.”