Columbia recently finalized the purchase of two buildings near campus, according to city records published on Thursday. One is a residential building at 619-623 W. 113th St., sold Feb. 19, and the other is an industrial building at 2305 12th Ave., sold Jan. 30. The University paid a combined $13.65 million for the properties.
The industrial property, purchased for $4.9 million, is a two-story building located on 12th Ave. between 131st and 132nd streets, within the University’s 17-acre Manhattanville expansion zone. The purchase is part of Columbia’s ongoing effort to acquire all outstanding properties within the campus development site.
Last December, the Empire State Development Corporation approved the use of eminent domain on Manhattanville properties whose owners do not agree to sell or relocate.
The 113th Street building, purchased for $8.75 million, was formerly owned by the Community of the Holy Spirit Church, which used it as a convent. The nuns there plan to move to a new location on Convent Avenue and 150th Street, but this new building has not yet been constructed. University officials said Columbia will not use the newly purchased 113th Street property until the nuns find a new home.
“We do not yet have plans for the building on West 113th Street as the new building for the nuns of the Community of the Holy Spirit is not anticipated to be complete until the spring of 2010,” Dan Held, a spokesperson for Columbia Facilities, wrote in an e-mail.
According to a Jan. 30 New York Times article, the nuns approached Columbia to ask if they would consider purchasing the property, and the University in turn agreed to assist the nuns in obtaining construction permits for their new site.
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