We spent $104 million turning an abandoned 19th-century college in NYC into luxury apartments—take a look inside

CNBC

4 days ago

When Matt Linde and Udi Kore were first approached to develop the old site of St. John's College's campus in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, it was a dream come true for the two men who grew up in the area.
Linde, CEO of People Restoring Communities, and Kore, Founding Partner at Avenue Realty Capital, first walked through the property in the summer of 2017.
The building has had many names over the years since the cornerstone was laid in 1869. It has been known as the College of St. John the Baptist, St. John's College, and St. John's University, New York, before relocating to its current campus in Queens, which is now simply referred to as St. John's University.
It was abandoned by the university after classes ceased in 1972 and had been deteriorating for decades. The Roman Catholic church next door, St. John the Baptist, used it for various purposes over the years, including as a nunnery and a boarding school.
"I think it looked like a great place to shoot a horror movie. Paint was chipping off the walls. Holes everywhere. Debris all over the floor, birds flying through it. It was clearly a severely neglected asset," Linde tells CNBC Make It.
"Combine that with the beautiful bones of this building, amazing high ceilings, amazing arch windows, it wasn't difficult to see the vision that you could take this building and turn it into something beautiful."
Following the initial walkthrough, the business partners agreed that the existing floor plans were suitable for converting the property into a luxury apartment building. After some negotiations, Linde was able to secure a 99-year ground lease from St. John the Baptist, which grants his company the right to construct and operate for the entire duration of the lease.
"At the end of the 99 years, unless the church agrees to let us extend it and sign another lease, the lease hold will return to the Catholic Church," Linde says.
The partners say that, for the church, it was vital that the old college be preserved, but also converted for better use.
"It was very important for the church to keep the original elements of this structure, but find a way to convert it to a better use that will create some sort of income for the church," Kore says. "They just wanted someone to come in and create a business plan that made sense for them to convert it and still be a really good part of the fabric of this neighborhood and that's what we essentially did."
When Linde and Kore got on board with the project, they had to pay $3.7 million to take over the lease. In addition, they had to split the lots where the old college and St. John the Baptist sit so the church could maintain their tax exemption and the building could be taxed like any other property.
For funding, they secured a construction loan of $72,125,000 and had an additional $31,502,859 from private equity for a total of $103,627,859, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Property taxes for the building are around $700,000 a year.
Renovations began in 2020. That process included adding a new wing and connecting the older wing to it, as well as building an underground parking garage. The old college was converted into a 205-apartment building, with 147 one-bedroom units, 48 studios, and 10 two-bedroom units. The partners named the building The Hartby, as an homage to the cross streets Hart Street and Willoughby Avenue.
Of the 205 units, 62 are designated for affordable housing, meaning the rents will range from $2,495 to $3,939 per month and are accessible via the NYC Housing Connect lottery. The rent for the remaining apartments ranges between $3,130 and $6,950 per month.
The Hartby has some of the old college's original details like exposed brick and a window that was originally part of the school's chapel. Linde and Kore also created a courtyard and what they call a winter garden that connects the apartment building to the historic church.
Other amenities include a lounge, gym, yoga room and business center.
The Hartby started leasing in April of this year, and the building is currently at around 50% occupancy and 70% leased. Linde and Kore estimate the building will be fully leased by September.
Linde and Kore say The Hartby has been embraced by the people in the neighborhood, who specifically appreciate their choice to honor the original design of the old college. The church, they say, was also in complete shock when they saw the completed project.
"I think they were a little bit in awe when they came in here because they've seen it in disrepair for so many years," Kore says. "They really felt like we did what we said we were going to do, which is to preserve as much of it as possible so it will never be forgotten. I think it's one of those landmarks that will hopefully be part of Brooklyn forever."