More College Kids Student Housing Coming To Roosevelt Island - Manhattan Park to Lease 26 More Dormitory Apartments To Marymount Manhattan College in Addition to Renewing 35 Existing Dorm Apartments

With all the excitement generated over the proposed Roosevelt Island Stanford University Campus at the Goldwater Hospital site, it's easy to forget that Roosevelt Island is already the home for a great deal of housing for college students. Previous posts have reported on Roosevelt Island student housing at the Riverwalk development as well as Manhattan Park.

In an article regarding the Stanford plan for Roosevelt Island, Globe Street reported yesterday:

... The addition of Stanford to Roosevelt Island would up the student population on Roosevelt Island, where New York University, Cornell University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Marymount Manhattan College already have student housing, according to Fernando Martinez, VP for operations at the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. Hennessy, the Stanford president, mentioned in his address that the site could potentially expand to as many as 2,000 students and 100 faculty members....

There will be even more student housing on Roosevelt Island coming soon since the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) during their April Board meeting (webcast is here, though it does not seem to be working) approved the request of Manhattan Park to change their property's bedroom mix so that Marymount Manhattan College can add 26 more dormitory apartments for their students at Manhattan Park's 10 River Road. The RIOC resolution states:

1.    The Corporation is hereby authorized to consent to Manhattan Park’s Major Sublease to Marymount Manhattan College and to approve the plans and the change to the project’s bedroom mix, along such terms and conditions substantially similar to those outlined in the memorandum from Leslie Torres to the Board of Directors, dated March 23, 2011, attached hereto;

 Image of Manhattan Park's 10 River Road

 How do current Manhattan Park residents feel about living so close to the undergraduate Marymount Manhattan students? One reader of this post remarked:

Oh, great. More students. 3 or 4 kids squeezed into 2BR apartments. Lovely. Can't wait for the warmer weather when the students come out to the roof decks and party in front of our windows.

another:

Those pesky kids are always breaking the washing machines and dryers. (But what do I know - I haven't done laundry in 2 years).

 In a memorandum from RIOC President Leslie Torres dated March 23, 2011 to the RIOC Board of Directors in support of the resolution Ms. Torres states (full memorandum is below in post and linked here):

and Ms. Torres continues:

Manhattan Park's Roosevelt Island Associates states (full text of the letter is below in post and linked here) (Click on text to enlarge)

and Manhattan Park's Starrett Corporation provides some additional details of the deal including financial terms (full text of the letter is below in post and linked here) (Click on text to enlarge):

RIOC Chief Financial Officer Steve Chironis sent the following memorandum to RIOC President Leslie Torres recommending the resolution approving the change in Manhattan Park's Bedroom mix so that the units could be leased to Marymount Manhattan College (full text of the memorandum is below in post and linked here) (Click on text to enlarge).

I inquired of Mr. Chironis:

In your March 10, 2011 memo to Leslie you indicated in your financial analysis an assumption of a 20% vacancy rate over the 10 year term of the lease. Can you explain how you came up with that 20% vacancy rate.

The average NYC vacancy rate is probably 2-3%, certainly less than 5% so how did you get to 20%. Is the 20% just 2% annually multiplied by the 10 year term or something else?

Mr. Chironis replied:

The block of apartments aprrox. 60 are on the lower floors and are the hardest to rent out. The 20% is not the overall vacancy but 20% on the group of 60 apartments (12). It is 12 apartments out of 1100.

Get ready for more college kids at Manhattan Park.

Here's a tour of a Manhattan Park apartment.



Don't know whether it's a Marymount Manhattan dorm apartment or not but this short film on Different Tastes was made by a Marymount Manhattan College student and shot on Roosevelt Island. It's pretty good.

Below are the full memorandums and letters referenced above.

Link in Google Docs here.
Manhattan Park Marymount College Dorm Resolution