Former NYU dorm nearly half leased

 
A former New York University dorm-turned-rental building at 15 Cliff Street in the Financial District has leased nearly half of its 156 units, less than a month after they hit the market, developer Michael Lalezarian said.

Rents at the 32-story building range from $2,300 for a studio and to $5,800 for a two-bedroom apartment.

The building has a 24-hour concierge, a fitness center, on-site cafe and a rooftop garden.

The dorm was a popular one for NYU students. The school’s student newspaper, Washington Square News, once hailed Cliff Street as “the apartment that you might not ever afford in the real world,” in a housing review. Students paid less than $12,000 for nine months of housing in the dorm.

Rockrose Development Corp., which owned the building during its time as an NYU dorm, sold the building to Lalezarian Properties in November 2007 for more than $60 million.

NYU lost 350 beds in the deal. Just around the corner, its lease on a Rockrose-owned Water Street dorm will not be renewed after the 2008-2009 academic year. To compensate, NYU purchased Gramercy Green this past spring from developer J.D. Carlisle. The 21-story building at Third Avenue and 23rd Street can house 900 undergraduates.

NYU is also constructing a dormitory on 12th Street between Third and Fourth Avenue that will house about 700 students.