Christian liberal-arts college takes LoMa digs

Nyack College has found a new home in Lower Manhattan, ending a nearly six-year search, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Christian liberal-arts college will take eight floors covering 166,385 square feet at 2 Washington Street, a 22-story building near Battery Park. Nyack — whose main campus is in Rockland County — will pay roughly $32.50 per square foot for the space in a 20-year deal, which will see it more than double its New York presence. The college will relocate from two locations: a floor at 93 Worth Street and the entire building at 361 Broadway. 

“We wanted to have a real university campus that we could design,” Nyack President Michael Scales, told the Journal, and added that the “criteria was a long-term lease and option to purchase.” The college has been searching for a permanent Manhattan home since 2007.

Nyack was represented by CBRE Group’s Gerry Miovski on the deal, who told the Journal the location was ideal for the college due to the “resurgence of Downtown and in particular, because of its proximity to transportation and Battery Park.”

The Nyack deal comes at a time when more schools and colleges are moving into New York office buildings. The education sector’s Manhattan footprint increased 47% between 2005 and 2012, with leasing activity concentrated in Midtown South and Downtown, according to a January report from CBRE. [WSJ] –Hiten Samtani