NYU Plans 21-Story Dorm in Gramercy

New York University announced today that it has purchased a new 21-story apartment building in Gramercy for undergraduate housing, slated to open this fall.

The building, located at 316 Third Avenue off of 23^rd Street, will house 900 students, the university announced in an e-mail to its students. (The Villager broke the news of the dorm this week.)

The 2,074-square-foot property lot was bought by Third Avenue Developers, an apparent subsidiary of J.D. Carlisle Development Corp., in April 2005 for $83 million. The company began constructing a high-end rental apartment building in 2006, but later put the property up for sale.

NYU also announced that it will not renew its lease on its Cliff Street residence hall, located in the Financial District, which expires at the end of the spring semester. Cliff Street currently houses about 350 students, so the new 900-bed Gramercy purchase will more than make up for the lost beds on Cliff Street.

The Gramercy dormitory is slated to have two-three-person studios, and four-six-person doubles and triples.

NYU's Gramercy/Murray Hill presence isn't new, as the university already has a dorm on 25^th Street and 26^th Street, both near First Avenue. Also, NYU's medical center is located in that area.

Currently under construction is an NYU freshman dorm on 12^th Street and Third avenue, which is slated to open in fall 2009. The lease on the Water Street residence hall, one block away from Cliff Street, will expire as the 12^th Street dorm opens.