NEW YORK CITY-The sale of St. John's University's Manhattan campus has closed, at a purchase price of $223 million. The transaction marks the largest ever residential development site sale in Lower Manhattan and it commanded a record price for the area, according to Cushman & Wakefield—which represented the school—and Real Capital Analytics.

As previously reported, the site was sold to a partnership between the Fisher Brothers and the Witkoff Group. The estimated price of the sale was approximately $200 million. A C&W New York Capital Markets team of Helen Hwang, EVP; Nat Rockett, EVP; Karen Wiedenmann, exective director, Steve Kohn, president, equity, debt and structured finance, and Michael Rotchford, EVP, represented St. John's in the transaction.

Located on the northeast corner of Murray and West Streets, the property—at 101 Murray St.—provides the partners with the chance to build a residential project with a coveted Tribeca address. The site features an expansive 31,028 square-foot footprint that affords maximum design flexibility. The underlying zoning provides no height restriction, allowing the developer to maximize ceiling heights and enhance the potential for panoramic views. Fisher Brothers and Witkoff have not yet announced design plans.

The site allows for the development of a residential building totaling 310,028 square feet as-of-right, with the potential to increase the development bulk to 372,336 square feet through available floor area bonuses. “101 Murray Street is a development site like no other in Manhattan with the potential to become a truly world-class residence,” says Hwang. 

The university will continue occupancy of the 10-story property until mid-2014 and plans to identify another centrally-located space in Manhattan before the start of the 2014-15 academic year to house the Tobin College of Business School of Risk Management, the Global Studies language programs and other academic initiatives.