Photo from July by Stacie Joy
The former P.S. 64 at 605 E. Ninth St., a point of contention in the neighborhood for the past 20-plus years, is now being offered for use as medical space or educational-related purposes.
An EVG tipster points us to
a new listing from late last week at LoopNet. According to the listing, 156,000 square feet of space is available for sale or lease here between Avenue B and Avenue C via
Wexler Healthcare Properties at the Corcoran Group.
The listing states:
The redevelopment and historic restoration of this century-old landmark, a former New York City elementary school, can be transformed into a variety of modern, amenity-rich opportunities, including:
• Student Dormitories
• Education Center College
• Satellite Campus
• Medical Center
• Nursing Home
• Assisted Living
The listing also notes that the property "can be made
Article 28 compliant" and "leasehold condo structure considered."
The building became the CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center after the school left in 1977. New landlord Gregg Singer reportedly evicted the group in December 2001. He bought the property from the city during an auction in 1998 for $3.15 million.
As previously reported, ownership of the property had been in transition. In January, Supreme Court Justice Melissa Crane ruled that Madison Realty Capital could move forward with a foreclosure against Singer after years of delay.
Madison Realty Capital reportedly provided Singer with a $44 million loan on the property in 2016. Court records show that he failed to repay the balance by its maturity date in April 2016, and by that September, the lender filed to foreclose, as reported by The Real Deal.
Now we're back to some familiar proposed uses for the space. Singer wanted to turn the building into a dorm (more here), though those plans never materialized. (In past years, the Joffrey Ballet and Cooper Union were attached to the project.)
There was also a moment when the building could have been used for medical purposes: In March 2020, Singer reportedly offered the building to the city for use in treating patients with COVID. The city declined.