A Gothic-revival estate Elmhurst is bordered to the northwest by North Providence, the northeast and east by Douglas and Oakland Avenues, the west by Mount Pleasant Avenue and the south by Farm Street, Pleasant Valley Parkway and Chalkstone Avenue. In 1872, the estate was purchased by The Religious of the Sacred Heart and converted to Elmhurst Academy, a school for girls. After Elmhurst Academy moved to Portsmouth in 1961, the property was sold to Providence College. Six years later, the vacant buildings were destroyed in a fire. In 1975, developers bought the land and built the 96-townhouse Elmhurst Arboretum condominium complex, a development that attracts young professionals who want affordable luxury living.
Residents maintain their own lawns, and the city plows the roads and picks up trash.
A large number of Quirk's clients are professionals. A lot of young professionals like the convenience. Young physicians doing their residencies in Providence hospitals who are looking for convenience have the same options. You get a lot more for your money. Several neighborhoods in one Elmhurst is also seeing an influx of Southeast Asian immigrants coming from less expensive homes in South Providence who want to buy in a safer family neighborhood but don't want to leave the city.