CUNY may sell some of its 300-building portfolio

School system tapped Real Estate Solutions Group to assess value of holdings

The CUNY Graduate Center at 365 Fifth Avenue and John Jay College building at 59th Street and Amsterdam Avenue (Credit: Alex Irklievski and Professorcornbread via Wikipedia Commons)
The CUNY Graduate Center at 365 Fifth Avenue and John Jay College building at 59th Street and Amsterdam Avenue (Credit: Alex Irklievski and Professorcornbread via Wikipedia Commons)

The City University of New York is looking to generate more money for academic programs by selling off some of its 300-building portfolio.

The Facilities Planning and Management Committee on CUNY’s board of trustees unanimously approved a $750,000 contract with Real Estate Solutions Group last week to assess the value of all of its buildings, according to the New York Post. The review will likely also look at possibly selling air rights above CUNY properties.

The college has considered selling the unused John Jay College building at 59th Street and Amsterdam Avenue for years, and one trustee brought up selling the CUNY Graduate Center at 365 Fifth Avenue by the Empire State Building. However, CUNY spokesperson Frank Sobrino told the Post that the Graduate Center is not for sale.

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CUNY has 18 different colleges, including senior colleges and community colleges. Its 300 buildings span the five boroughs. By comparison, Columbia University has more than 230 properties and New York University has 110, according to The Real Deal’s 2018 ranking of university property holdings.

Real Estate Solutions Group should be able to prepare its report in six or seven months, laying out the values and options for the potential sale or development of CUNY’s properties. [NYP] — Eddie Small