NYU buys dorm on Cooper Square that everyone already thought was an NYU dorm

According to published reports, NYU bought the dorm at 35 Cooper Square at Sixth Street for $69.2 million. 

Marymount Manhattan College (MMC) had occupied the 13-floor residence hall since August 2015. (The building includes retail tenants Librae Bakery and Meet Fresh bubble tea.)

Despite multiple reports about Marymount leasing the space dating back 10 years, some residents thought it belonged to NYU's East Village dorm empire. 

Well, it does now... as the NYU branding is already at the entrance...

The deal is joint venture between two Midtown-based real estate firms, Sherwood Equities and Bhatia Development, Crain's and PincusCo reported. 

MMC's lease was reportedly terminated last month. This seemed like a bit of a hike for students of the private liberal arts college, which has its main campus on the Upper East Side.

Upon the dorm's grand opening nine years ago, 199 MMC students moved in, per a school news release at the time. The additional 73 spots were contracted out to Cooper Union. 

The dorm sits on a lot previously occupied in part by 35 Cooper Square, the Federal-style building dating back to 1825. The closing of the Asian Pub in January 2011 at 35 Cooper Square set in motion a sequence of events that led to the demolition of the historic building in 2011, despite pleas from community activists and preservationists. 

Neighbors weren't so supportive of all this, leaving signs calling developer Arun Bhatia "a destroyer of East Village history." 

Crain's has more about NYU's real-estate empire: 

NYU is considered one of the city's largest and wealthiest landlords, and, like other private colleges, it benefits from tax exemptions on its real estate. Last year NYU acquired a Kips Bay apartment building​​ for $210 million — one of 2023's priciest transactions. And the total assessed value of NYU's holdings is about $1.8 billion, just below Columbia University's total, but NYU is taxed on just $120 million of that, thus enjoying nearly $1.7 billion in savings, according to a Crain's analysis in a piece from last fall headlined "City loses $788 million in property taxes as private colleges eat up 25M square feet of land."

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• 35 Cooper Square, 'this much-beloved little building,' dies at age 186

What you knead to know about Librae Bakery

If you missed our post from last week, Librae Bakery is opening soon at 35 Cooper Square at Sixth Street. 

Since that last post, help-wanted signage has gone up in the windows (in case you knead a job — we'll run that joke into the ground!) ... and there's BREAD pictured on that sign...

Mentioning the bread because whenever a bakery opens and just sells cookies and cakes and desserts, people are like, What about a bakery with bread? 

The Librae Facebook page describes the business like this: "Third culture bakery with Middle Eastern roots and Danish technique." 

Anyway, it's shaping up inside to be a nice-looking space.

Librae takes over the storefront from Schmackary's, a bakery that sold cookies and other desserts (but not bread, see?).  Schmackary's didn't reopen following the PAUSE of March 2020. Their original outpost remains open on West 45th Street.

Breaking bread: Librae Bakery coming to Cooper Square

Renovations continue inside 35 Cooper Square at Sixth Street... signage on the door reveals the new tenant — Librae Bakery...

Don't know too much about the incoming business... they do have a placeholder website. 

We can glean a few clues from the bakery's help-wanted ad:

Looking to hire passionate people for a zero short cut, artisan family bakery. Seeking detail driven, bread-obsessed bakers with experience in sourdough production and vinoisserie. Daytime shifts only, early morning availability a must! Option for full and part time.

Sourdough! 

Schmackary's, which sold cookies and other desserts, never reopened in this space following the PAUSE of March 2020.

The Schmackary's outpost on Cooper Square isn't reopening

One of the two retail spaces at 35 Cooper Square (at Sixth Street) is now for rent... marking the official end of the Schmackary's outpost. 

The bakery, sporting 75-plus varieties of cookies plus brownie's, etc., never reopened after the PAUSE in March 2020. Their main store on West 45th Street remains in business as does its online service.

Schmackary's opened here in July 2019... Previously: Pourt, the cafe-work space combo, closed after 11 months in December 2017 here in the retail base of the Marymount Manhattan College dormitory. 

Schmackary's debuts today on Cooper Square

The second NYC outpost of Schmackary's opens today on 35 Cooper Square at Sixth Street...



The bakery offers 75-plus varieties of cookies ... plus brownie's, krispie treats and Schmackaroons (their take on a macaroon, obviously). They also sell coffee drinks, tea and milk.

The last tenant here, Pourt, the cafe-work space combo, closed after 11 months in December 2017 here in the retail base of the Marymount Manhattan College dormitory.

Previously

Schmackary's bringing cookies to Cooper Square

Signage arrived Monday for Schmackary's, a bakery offering 40-plus varieties of cookies, at 35 Cooper Square between Fifth Street and Sixth Street... next door to Meet Fresh, the Taiwanese dessert and tea chain here in the base of the dorm for Marymount Manhattan College students.

This is the second NYC outpost for the brand (the other is at 45th Street at Ninth Avenue). Signage points to a summer debut here.

The last tenant here, Pourt, the cafe-work space combo, closed after 11 months in December 2017.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pourt softly opens on Cooper Square

Pourt signage arrives at Cooper Square dorm retail space

Meet Fresh debuts on Cooper Square

NYC's first Meet Fresh is now open on Cooper Square at Sixth Street.

While we don't have photographic evidence of this, an EVG reader reported a long line outside the popular Taiwanese dessert and tea chain on Saturday.

As previously noted, the company, now with 100 locations worldwide, was started by the Fu siblings. Here's their story via the Meet Fresh website:

Sister and Brother Fu grew up in a generational farming family in the Feng Yuan District of Taichung, Taiwan. Using traditional food materials and processes, they made chewy taro ball desserts, soft herbal jelly, and delicate traditional tofu pudding, as a continuation of traditional delicacies while integrating innovation!

Meet Fresh resides in the corner retail space of the 13-story dorm for Marymount Manhattan College students that opened in August 2015.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Meet Fresh bringing teas and taro balls to Cooper Square

Former Pourt space for lease on Cooper Square

Pourt, the cafe-work space at 35 Cooper Square, closed at the end of November after 11 months in business.

The for lease sign is now up in the window here in the base of the Marymount Manhattan College dormitory at Sixth Street. ... though the listing isn't online just yet at the RKF website.

The eventual new tenant will have a dessert shop as a neighbor. Meet Fresh, a Taiwan-based chain, will be opening soon next door.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pourt has closed on Cooper Square

Meet Fresh bringing teas and taro balls to Cooper Square

Pourt has closed on Cooper Square

Pourt, the cafe-work space combo at 35 Cooper Square, shut down after service on Friday.

There's a message on the bottom of the Pourt website noting that they "are unfortunately no longer operating. Thank you to all of our customers."



It seemed like a good idea on paper: a mixture of coffeehouse and workspace. People could rent a desk with speedy fiber optics by the hour ($7) and order bottomless coffee ($2.99). There was also access to printers, phone chargers, Skype facilities, etc., as well as a larger conference room for small groups.

The New York Business Journal wrote about the space back in March:

Pourt is striving to create a new hybrid, a mixture of coffeehouse and workspace, emphasizing short-term stays. Whether there are enough freelancers and small businesses that can pay those fees is yet to be determined.

It‘s located on Cooper Square, strategically situated near Cooper Union, NYU, Manhattan Marymount College dorms and the Standard Hotel in the bustling East Village. The combined space measures 2,000 square feet.

Founders Matt Tervooren, 28, and 27-year-old Mike Kruszewski, lived in the East Village (Tervooren recently moved to Williamsburg) and met as economics majors at the University of Michigan. When they freelanced, they were “consistently frustrated by the lack of good Wifi, lack of available seating, or having the barista frowning at you if you don’t order more food,” Tervooren noted.

Pourt, he said, “combines the two concepts, a coffee shop with a comfortable work space.” And what differentiates Pourt from other co-working spaces such as WeWork and Regus is customers “don’t have to make long-term commitments. If you’re looking for a permanent office, we’re not right,” he admitted.

So what happened? One local who frequented the space offered this analysis:

Their rent was very high and they had a lot of square footage. They took so much space because they originally thought they could have space in the back where people would pay to work during the day. Their rent required that the work space generate substantial revenue. But nobody wanted to pay $10+/hour to work in the back when there are so many other options nearby. So they tried a bunch of other business models over the past year, trying to figure out how to generate enough revenue to pay crazy East Village rents on a large space that a coffee shop model alone couldn’t support. They were nice guys and worked hard ... it’s a shame.

Pourt opened back in January in the base of the Marymount Manhattan College dormitory here at Sixth Street.

The owners were unsuccessful in their bid for a full liquor license in July.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pourt softly opens on Cooper Square

Pourt signage arrives at Cooper Square dorm retail space

Meet Fresh bringing teas and taro balls to Cooper Square

The second retail space in the base of the Marymount Manhattan College dorm has a new tenant.

Signage went up yesterday here on Cooper Square and Sixth Street for Meet Fresh, a Taiwan-based chain that serves teas and desserts. (Thanks to EVG reader Harry Weiner for the photos!)



The company, now 100 locations strong, was started by the Fu siblings. Here's their story via the Meet Fresh website:

Sister and Brother Fu grew up in a generational farming family in the Feng Yuan District of Taichung, Taiwan. Using traditional food materials and processes, they made chewy taro ball desserts, soft herbal jelly, and delicate traditional tofu pudding, as a continuation of traditional delicacies while integrating innovation!

This marks the first NYC location for the brand. It joins neighbor Pourt, the cafe-networking space, in the dorm storefronts.

The 13-story dorm opened for Marymount Manhattan College students in August 2015. The dorm sits on a lot previously occupied in part by 35 Cooper Square, the Federal-style building that dated to 1825.

Pourt softly opens on Cooper Square

Pourt, a cafe and workspace, opened this past Friday at 35 Cooper Square at Sixth Street (in one of the retail spaces in the base of the Marymount Manhattan College dormitory).


[Photo Friday by @unitof]

For now, in this soft-open mode, only the cafe portion of the operation is up and running. They are serving Intelligentsia coffee and tea as well as offerings from Tompkins Square Bagels and Liquiteria, among others. (You can find the other vendors here.) They were also approved for a beer-wine license last summer.

There will also be a workspace for freelancers, students... and anyone else. The space has fiber-optic Internet connection and access to color printers. According to the Pourt website, a desk space (with a comfortable-looking chair) is $7 an hour, and an extra $2.99 gets you unlimited coffee, espresso or tea drinks. There's also a five-seat conference room available for rental. You can find more details here.

Pourt's hours are 7 a.m. to midnight.

Marymount Manhattan College's Cooper Square dorm opens on Aug. 28

[Photo by Jim Rogers]

It has almost been three years to the date since when we first learned that a dorm was in the works for Cooper Square…. at the former 35 Cooper Square at East Sixth Street.

And now the dorm is ready for students starting on Aug. 28.

Here's part of the official news release that we received yesterday:

Marymount Manhattan College (MMC) is pleased to announce the opening of its brand-new student residence at 200 East 6th Street, in the thriving downtown East Village community known as Cooper Square.

“MMC’s expansion into downtown Manhattan is an expression of our commitment to fully engage with all corners of the city, as part of our “city as a campus” philosophy, while also offering students an intimate community and academic experience,” explained Dr. Kerry Walk, President of Marymount Manhattan College.

MMC worked closely with developer Arun Bhatia from The Arun Bhatia Development Organization to conceptualize the building plans and construct a residence that would serve the college for many years. The completed building meets the needs of MMC’s urban students with 24/7 security, on-site MMC Residence Directors, an outdoor terrace space, a 24-hour study lounge, laundry facilities, bike storage, a modern fitness center, as well as wireless Internet throughout the building.

“We are thrilled to expand our student residence footprint in Manhattan to accommodate our growing student population, within the dynamic East Village neighborhood just a short commute to MMC’s main campus,” said Emmalyn Yamrick, Director of Residence Life.

MMC is a private liberal arts college with its main campus on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, at 221 East 71st Street.

Per the release, the Cooper Square Residence Hall will accommodate 272 students in total. This year, 199 MMC students will be moving in ... while the additional 73 spots have been contracted out to Cooper Union.

No word just yet on the retail tenants for the space. Too bad that the Cooper 35 Asian Pub isn't still at 35 Cooper Square, where the dorm now stands — students may have liked that.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Something 28,998 square feet or so coming to Cooper Square (and goodbye Cooper 35 Asian Pub?)

Here's what's coming to 35 Cooper Square: 9-story dormitory

Proposed dorm for former 35 Cooper Square looks to be 4 floors taller

City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square

Updated: Here's what the newest East Village dorm will look like

Dig bottoms out on Cooper Square; here comes the dorm, here comes the dorm!

Your chance to lease the retail space in the new Cooper Square dorm

Here then, the new dorm on Cooper Square

After shedding most of its construction netting at the beginning of the year, workers removed the sidewalk bridge this week here on Cooper Square at East Sixth Street… showing off the dorm that will house students from Marymount Manhattan College starting this fall…







Marymount's campus is on East 71st Street, so the students will have a bit of a commute to class...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Something 28,998 square feet or so coming to Cooper Square (and goodbye Cooper 35 Asian Pub?)

Here's what's coming to 35 Cooper Square: 9-story dormitory

Proposed dorm for former 35 Cooper Square looks to be 4 floors taller

City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square

Updated: Here's what the newest East Village dorm will look like

Dig bottoms out on Cooper Square; here comes the dorm, here comes the dorm!

Your chance to lease the retail space in the new Cooper Square dorm

Hey, it's a dorm

We've posted photos of the new dorm at 35 Cooper Square and East Sixth Street in various states (like here and here).

Anyway, we just realized that we haven't posted a photo of the (almost) FULLY REVEALED dorm. So here you go.

And, as previously reported, the dorm will house students from Marymount Manhattan College, which is nowhere near here.

A news release from the school in April 2014 said students will be moving in for the fall 2015 term...

As for the rest of the release....

Cooper Square will be an all-encompassing, apartment-style residence hall for sophomore, junior, and senior residents. The new residence hall will be located on the corner of Cooper Square and East 6th Street, otherwise known as one of the most trendy and artistic locations in all of New York City. The 12-story residence will include a floor-wide student lounge, a robust fitness center, a study room, and a beautiful terrace on the 7th floor. The new residence hall is located just a few minutes from the 6 train, where students can quickly make their way up to the Upper East Side for class, or can bike uptown thanks to a bicycle storage room.

And two of the renderings from the release...





Previously on EV Grieve:
City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square

Updated: Here's what the newest East Village dorm will look like

Dig bottoms out on Cooper Square; here comes the dorm, here comes the dorm!

Your chance to lease the retail space in the new Cooper Square dorm

Dorm reveal on Cooper Square

Workers this afternoon are removing the scaffolding and netting from the new dorm at 35 Cooper Square and East Sixth Street for Marymount Manhattan College....

Previously on EV Grieve:
City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square

Updated: Here's what the newest East Village dorm will look like

Dig bottoms out on Cooper Square; here comes the dorm, here comes the dorm!

Your chance to lease the retail space in the new Cooper Square dorm

Signs are up now for the retail space in the ground-floor of the 13-floor building that will one day house students from Marymount Manhattan College.

Let's take a look at the RKF listing here at Cooper Square and East Sixth Street…



There isn't any mention of rent… though the listing does mention the "tremendous wraparound frontage" and "strong retail adjacencies including fashion, design and restaurant tenants."

The rendering shows — ding! ding! — a bank.

Not to mention a gorilla sticker (on the rendering at the site) …



Previously on EV Grieve:
City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square

Updated: Here's what the newest East Village dorm will look like

Dig bottoms out on Cooper Square; here comes the dorm, here comes the dorm!

New dorm reaches street level on Cooper Square

[EVG photo from March 22]

The other morning we took a look through the blogger portals on the plywood at 200 E. Sixth St. at Cooper Square… where a 13-floor dorm is in the works for Marymount Manhattan College.

And the building is now up to the street level …





One of these days it will look something like this rendering…


[Photo by Robert Miner]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Here's what's coming to 35 Cooper Square: 9-story dormitory

City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square

Updated: Here's what the newest East Village dorm will look like

Dig bottoms out on Cooper Square; here comes the dorm, here comes the dorm!

Dig bottoms out on Cooper Square; here comes the dorm, here comes the dorm!

[March 8]

We've been watching the big dig at 200 E. Sixth St. at Cooper Square… where a 13-floor dorm is in the works for Marymount Manhattan College.

It's easy to monitor the progress via the blogger portals on the plywood… (So much better than having to ask a passerby for a boost over the wall.)

Here we have March 15…





And now, from this past Saturday… you can see they reached the bottom of the pit and are starting on the foundation…



No sign of any bunk beds yet for the students.

And some day.


[Photo by Robert Miner]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Something 28,998 square feet or so coming to Cooper Square (and goodbye Cooper 35 Asian Pub?)

Here's what's coming to 35 Cooper Square: 9-story dormitory

Proposed dorm for former 35 Cooper Square looks to be 4 floors taller

City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square

Updated: Here's what the newest East Village dorm will look like

Updated: Here's what the newest East Village dorm will look like

[Photo by Robert Miner]

This morning, workers put up the rendering showing what developer Arun Bhatia's 13-floor "new student housing building" on Cooper Square at East Sixth Street will look like … right next door to the Standard East Village…



There are still some unknowns publicly about the project, such as who the dorm is for... Updated 1:58 p.m. Our friends at Curbed point out that Marymount Manhattan College will be leasing the space. Marymount's campus is on East 71st Street, so the kids will have a bit of a hike to class...

The Arun Bhatia Development Organization has developed dorms for the New School and Marymount Manhattan College, among others, through the years.

The dorm will sit on a lot previously occupied in part by 35 Cooper Square, the Federal-style building that dated to 1825.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Something 28,998 square feet or so coming to Cooper Square (and goodbye Cooper 35 Asian Pub?)

Here's what's coming to 35 Cooper Square: 9-story dormitory

Proposed dorm for former 35 Cooper Square looks to be 4 floors taller

City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square

City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square

[EVG file photo]

The city has approved developer Arun Bhatia's plans for a 13-floor "new student housing building" on Cooper Square at East Sixth Street, according to public records. The DOB website shows that the plans were OK'd this past Friday.



Bhatia's reps first filed paperwork for a 9-story dorm for an unspecified school in this space back in August 2012, as we first reported. Along the way, the dorm grew by 4 floors.

The paperwork on file with the DOB shows a building with 55 units and 3,517 square feet for commercial space. Kossar + Garry Architects, LLP are the architects of record.



There are many unknowns publicly about the project, such as who the dorm is for... and when construction will commence. The Arun Bhatia Development Organization has developed dorms for the New School and Marymount Manhattan College, among others, through the years.

The dorm will sit on a lot previously occupied in part by 35 Cooper Square, the Federal-style building that dated to 1825. The closing of the Asian Pub in January 2011 at 35 Cooper Square set in motion a sequence of events that led to the demolition of the building in 2011.

Neighbors haven't been so supportive of all this, as various signs left on the fence here have shown the past two years... like this one from March 2012...

An aside: The DOB website shows that there is still a "partial vacate" on 35 Cooper Square... dated from November 2008. Per the all-cap DOB speak: "NO 2ND MEANS OF EGRESS AT REAR YARD."



Thankfully the demolition crew took care of that egress problem.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Something 28,998 square feet or so coming to Cooper Square (and goodbye Cooper 35 Asian Pub?)

Here's what's coming to 35 Cooper Square: 9-story dormitory

Proposed dorm for former 35 Cooper Square looks to be 4 floors taller