Berkeley College Puts White Plains Campus on Market for Sale

WHITE PLAINS—Berkeley College has put two White Plains buildings that formerly served as its Westchester campus on the market for sale.

The availability of the properties at 99 Church St. and 6 Cottage Place in Downtown White Plains was announced by commercial brokerage firm RM Friedland, which is marketing the campus.

Berkeley College, a provider of career-focused education since 1931, announced in June it would consolidate its Downtown White Plains campus into its New York City campus by the start of the Fall 2021 semester.

RM Friedland states that the campus represents a rare opportunity for a user, investor, or developer to lease or own a mixed-use property in the heart of Downtown White Plains.

The campus the four-story, 110,000-square-foot office building with full basement at 99 Church St. and a six-story dormitory style residential building at 6 Cottage Place with 55 dormitory units that have 140 beds.

The office building, which is partially leased, is opportunistically versatile in that it could be ideal for an institutional user who may also need the dormitory units in the residential building, equally attractive to a developer as the nearly one-acre site could accommodate an estimated 136,000 square feet of new development assuming the demolition of all existing buildings and could also be attractive to a value-add investor as the office building currently has four tenants leasing a total of 24,103 square feet of space, RM Friedland noted.

“This outstanding property offers a wide range of benefits for a purchaser including an excellent location in the Central Business District, easy access to mass transit, great demographics and a rare opportunity to be part of the momentum of a vibrant and booming downtown,” said John Barrett of RMF’s Investment Division.

“This property could be perfectly suited for repurposing, a trend which has become a prominent one in the Westchester office market,” added Chris O’Callaghan of RMF’s office division. O’Callaghan and Barrett will be teaming with RMF team members Charlie Dewey and Reed Waggoner on the Berkeley College assignment.

Berkeley joined a growing list of colleges that have either closed or reduced operations in the region due to market forces and the COVID pandemic. Berkeley College has been educating students in New York City since 1936 and in Westchester County since 1945.

“The challenges brought on by the pandemic and other factors were the impetus for the consolidation of the campus with our New York City campus,” said Michael J. Smith, president of Berkeley College when the consolidation was announced in June. “We are grateful for the support so many of the governing officials, business leaders and community organizations have shown us over the years,” said Smith. “Berkeley College remains committed to serving the residents and businesses of Westchester County through our New York City campus.”

Berkeley College is also re-envisioning its New York City campus, with facilities in Midtown Manhattan at 3 East 43rd Street and 12 East 41st Street. Plans are underway to consolidate all classrooms, offices, and operations into the 41st Street building over the next 12 months, the college stated.

Berkeley College currently has campuses in Midtown Manhattan and in Newark, Paramus, Woodbridge, and Woodland Park, NJ, with more than 4,900 students enrolled. In addition, Berkeley College Online serves a global population.