Fifty years after purchasing a five-story Upper East Side townhouse, the Manhattan Country School is listing the 7 East 96th Street property for $23 million.
The French-style townhouse, designed and originally lived in by architect Ogden Codman, became home to the school in 1966. Founded with a tuition policy that enabled parents to pay on a sliding scale based on income, the school was reportedly under pressure for years but is now expanding, with enrollment doubling to roughly 400 students. Because of the growth, the school is now bursting at the seams of its 40-foot-wide mansion.
Proceeds from the sale will go toward the school’s purchase of a larger site “near Central Park” and beef up its endowment, Michèle Solá, Manhattan Country School’s financial director, told the Journal.
The Corcoran Group’s Sharon Baum and David Enloe have a co-exclusive with CBRE’s Tim Sheehan, Dan Kaplan and Ned Midgley.
The school joins a bevy of other private schools in the area in its decision to hit the real estate market. The Brearley School, a private Upper East Side girls’ school, hired an architect to explore the expansion of its three buildings at 70-74 East End Avenue in December, while the Dalton School’s plan to expand via a two-story rooftop addition rankled neighbors last fall. [WSJ] — Julie Strickland