UES Migrant Center Acquired By Nonprofit For New Housing Project

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Breaking Ground, a nonprofit social services organization, has acquired a student housing building on Third Avenue with plans to convert it into supportive and low-income housing.

According to property records, the nonprofit acquired the building at 1760 Third Ave., situated just a block from the Upper East Side between East 97th and 98th streets, for $172 million late last month.

Breaking Ground secured a $128 million mortgage from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development for the purchase.

Bisnow first reported the deal at the beginning of the month.

Last summer, Mayor Adams announced the massive former college dormitory would become the city's 12th Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center to help the thousands of people who came to the city last spring.

The 19-story building used to house students from CUNY's Hunter and Baruch colleges, the private, for-profit Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, and other students through the company, Educational Housing Services.

The nonprofit informed news outlets in a statement that it had been in discussions to purchase the property since 2022 but postponed the acquisition to continue using it as a migrant shelter for an extended period.

Now, under the new deal, the building will eventually offer housing for formerly homeless individuals in 261 units and for low-income households at or below 60 percent of the area median income in the remaining 174 units.

Breaking Ground, established in 1990, manages nearly 4,000 housing units throughout New York City, as well as properties in upstate New York and Connecticut.

Breaking Ground's programs and services focus on assisting people experiencing street homelessness, particularly those who have been homeless for extended periods, to transition indoors.

Through initiatives like their Street to Home outreach program and transitional housing resources, Breaking Ground supports individuals in obtaining and maintaining a pathway to permanent housing.

Supportive housing, which combines affordable housing with comprehensive services to assist individuals in maintaining their homes long-term, is widely acknowledged as an effective and economical solution to chronic homelessness.