NEW YORK CITY-Following a lengthy search, the New York Film Academy has found a place to consolidate in Manhattan. It's the Moinian Group's 17 Battery Place South, where the international acting and film school has signed a 15-year, 73,321-square-foot lease on two floors at the for its New York headquarters.
Although the Real Deal reported this past December that NYFA would soon take space at 17 Battery South, negotiations on the lease had been in the works for more than a year prior to that. The school's technical requirements for production studios and soundstages made hammering out the $44-million deal an intricate process, according to the Moinian Group.
“This was a long process and we were very involved, because we wanted to make sure that NYFA was completely satisfied, since it had taken them so long to find a place just right for their needs,” Gregg Weisser, SVP and director of leasing at Moinian, says in a release. “We are thrilled that we have been able to add a long-term, marquee tenant like the New York Film Academy. These types of long-term deals add tremendous value to the asset.”
The first classes at the new location begin this summer. Along with a curriculum in film and TV production and acting, the school also offers classes in game design and music video.
NYFA was represented by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's Howard Kessler and Jordan Gosin. Weisser and NGKF's Jeffrey R. Gural and Adam Leshowitz represented the property's ownership.
What is now part of a two-building complex opened its doors as the Whitehall Building in 1904. The 20-story Lower Manhattan structure was built as a speculative office tower by the Chesebrough Building Co., whose founder, Robert A. Chesebrough, also led Chesebrough Manufacturing, makers of Vaseline. The Whitehall Building's success led the addition of a 31-story annex, known as 17 Battery Place North.
Moinian completed a $105-million refinancing of 17 Battery South in 2012, thereby stabilizing it for future landlord and tenant capital improvements. With the NYFA lease, the property's occupancy rate is 94.5%. It's already home to Continental Stock Transfer, Wall Street Access, the City of New York, Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation and Duane Reade.
The adjacent 17 Battery North similarly has seen an uptick in activity, according to a release. Nyack College signed on for 166,000 square feet in April, and relocated its Manhattan campus there last month.
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