NEW YORK CITY-Looking to accommodate a big uptick in enrollment, the Speyer Legacy School on the Upper West Side has announced it is moving to West midtown in a dramatically expanded space. The school will make a number of improvements to its new facility before moving this coming fall.
Intended for “intellectually advanced students” in grades K-8, Speyer Legacy will go from 9,000 square feet at its current location, 15 West 86th St., to 85,000 square feet at 400 W. 59th St. and 925 Ninth Ave., which are connected. Cushman & Wakefield's Josh Kuriloff, vice chairman, Jodi Roberts, managing director, and Andrew Braver, associate, represented the landlord in the transaction. The Brodsky Organization owns both buildings. Colliers International's Alex Jinishian, vice chairman, and Phil Amarante, senior managing director, represented the tenant. The purchase price for the new buildings was not disclosed.
Demand for enrollment at the Speyer Legacy School drove this move, with the school increasing in size from approximately 9,000 square feet at its current location, 15 West 86th Street, to 85,000 square feet at the new location. The existing tenant at the two-building campus—the Open Society Institute founded by George Soros—is slated to relocate to 224 W. 57th St. this month.
Designed by architect Christopher Grabe, a partner at the firm of Davis Brody Bond, the campus will include new classrooms; a unique staircase connecting the buildings; stem and media labs; a music and performing arts wing, including a dance studio and orchestra space; a mobile recording studio; a main and topical, satellite libraries; smart boards and smart technologies in all classrooms; a large cafeteria and multi-purpose space that opens to an outdoor veranda; and a recreational hall and gymnasium.
Construction on the two buildings will begin in March, with the buildings ready to accommodate students in fall 2013. “We need to offer an appropriately rigorous and thoughtful education for our most high-potential learners so that they may become thought leaders and action leaders both in their chosen professions and in society at-large,” says Dr. Kelly Posner, co-founder and co-chairman of The Speyer Legacy School, in the announcement. “They need to be in an environment where their potential can be nurtured. This new building will allow us to provide an ideal environment for Speyer students.”
“The Brodsky Organization was wonderful to work with,” adds Speyer co-founder Jennifer Selendy. “We very much wanted to remain on the West Side, and the Brodsky Organization truly embraced our mission. The company sees our school as adding something vital to the quality and character of its buildings and the neighborhood, and appreciates the school's commitment to building character in our students, in part, through active service to the local community.”
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
