BMCC Expands Over 75,000 SF at 255 Greenwich St.

NEW YORK CITY—The Borough of Manhattan Community College, one of seven two-year colleges in the City of New York (CUNY) system, is staking out more territory in Lower Manhattan. The school is expanding its space in the Jack Resnick & Sons’ building at 255 Greenwich St. The 14-story tower stands between Murray Street and Park Place.

BMCC signed a 17-year lease, adding to its current space of 167,059 square feet. Under the new lease, the school will rent an additional 77,882 square feet, ultimately occupying the second and third floors and floors 10 through 14. This latest deal now brings the school’s footprint to total 244,941 square feet. Asking rents were $60 per square foot.

The higher education institution will occupy nearly 40% of the 625,000 square-foot tower. More than 27,000 students are enrolled in 45 associate degree programs. In addition, 10,000 students are enrolled in BMCC’s adult and continuing education programs.

“We are thrilled to be able to expand our partnership with the Borough of Manhattan Community College, our tenant at 255 Greenwich Street since 2003,” says Jonathan Resnick, president of Jack Resnick & Sons. “BMCC is one of Lower Manhattan’s most dynamic institutions, and we are pleased to assist them in creating a vibrant learning community designed for New York City residents and students from around the world.”

The building features a student welcome center on Greenwich Street and a private entrance at 70 Murray St. As part of the BMCC urban campus, the facility is close to the main campus building at 199 Chambers St. In addition, its next-door neighbor, Fiterman Hall, an educational building, was badly damaged on 9/11, demolished in 2009 but re-built and re-opened in 2012.

In 1986, the Resnicks built the tower, designed by Emery Roth & Sons Architects and originally called 75 Park Place. In 2012, they renamed it to reflect its prominent location on Greenwich Street, an area reintroduced to the Lower Manhattan streetscape for the first time since construction of the original World Trade Center began in 1966.

In 2017, Resnick renovated the building’s main lobby, with a glass and granite entry, new glass turnstiles, a new security desk and elevators. The building is also WiredScore platinum certified.

Brett Greenberg, executive managing director, and Adam Rappaport, managing director of Jack Resnick & Sons, represented building ownership in the transaction. CBRE’s Stephen Siegel, David Hollander and Richard Levine represented CUNY. The owners are currently marketing a 16,669 square-foot space on the fifth floor.

Other tenants at 255 Greenwich St. include The City of New York Office of Management and Budget, Cornell University and the Ichan School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. The ground level features the first, smaller format, urban concept Target that opened in New York City.