Rising Ground to Sell 32-Acre Yonkers Campus

Human service organization Rising Ground is putting its Leake & Watts campus in Yonkers on the market. The 32-acre property, which overlooks the Hudson River, is listed with Transwestern Real Estate Services.

Rising Ground is currently housing several programs and residences at the campus and it intends to relocate them to other sites in New York City and Westchester, according to Matt Del Percio, president of the Rising Ground Board of Directors.

Rising Ground supports more than 25,000 children, adults, and families in need each year.

“The sale of the property will enable us to maximize the use of our charitable assets to further our mission, which is to help children, adults, and families rise above adversity by providing caring support and proven paths to positive change,” Del Percio said.

Rising Ground, which was originally founded in 1831 in Manhattan as the Leake & Watts Orphan House, moved to the Yonkers site in 1890. For decades, the nonprofit organization focused on child welfare, and all of its work took place on the Yonkers campus. Beginning in 1979, the organization grew to provide a wide range of human services for children, adults, and families in need. Today, the majority of its 55 programs are sited in New York City. Last year, Rising Ground moved its main administration office from its Yonkers campus to Brooklyn to be closer to its New York City-based programs and to its government and community partners.