Craig Nassi of BCN Development plans to buy and renovate Union Theological Seminary’s dormitory.
Nassi is paying more than $50 million for the gothic-style dormitory at 97 Claremont Avenue in Morningside Heights, the New York Post reported. Nassi will renovate the building’s interior, likely for residential use. The dormitory currently features 82 rooms and spans 90,000 square feet.
The seminary plans to lease the dormitory back from Nassi for the next three to five years while a new building is constructed a block away.
The deal is expected to close in July.
The seminary caused a stir in 2015, when it announced plans to team up with L&M Development Partners to co-develop a luxury condominium tower on campus. The plan involved selling 350,000 square feet of air rights to help pay for renovations on campus. At the time, students protested the plans, arguing that building a slender condo tower on campus ran counter to the school’s mission. [NYP] — Kathryn Brenzel