524 East 74th Site, Appraised at $188M in 2022, Goes to EDC for $43M
A 2024 CUNY board resolution authorized the sale, tied the price to a $27.75M foundation debt, and valued the site at $188M in 2022.
The City University Construction Fund deeded 524 East 74th Street to the New York City Economic Development Corporation for $43,085,886, according to an ACRIS deed listed Oct. 7, which sends a Manhattan site from one public body to another.
Why it matters
This is a reacquisition. The Construction Fund’s own board resolution says it took the site from NYCEDC by a deed dated March 30, 2015, with a requirement to build at least 215,085 square feet by March 30, 2025 or let NYCEDC re-enter. The same resolution says the Fund “has not progressed the development on the 74th Street Site and has no plans to do so.”
The resolution, adopted Feb. 29, 2024, also explains the money. It says Memorial Sloan Kettering built a joint foundation on the site and is owed $27,750,000, and that about $11,250,000 in bonds had to be defeased. Together that is $39 million of the $43.09 million deed price. The resolution does not state the sale price, so we do not say what the remaining $4.1 million covers.
The record is silent on what the site becomes. The resolution ties the transfer to a separate Hunter College nursing campus project downtown, where it says the city is putting in $473.9 million, but it names no plan for East 74th Street.
The numbers
The deed shows $43,085,886. City tax records for block 1485, lot 115 list a 26,564 square foot lot zoned C1-9, which puts the price near $1,622 per square foot of land. The same record carries 448,573 square feet of building area, which would be about $96 per square foot, but the resolution says nothing was built by the Fund, so treat that building figure with caution.
The Fund’s 2022 appraisal was $188 million, so the deed price is about 23% of it. The resolution describes the roughly $149 million net value as less than the city’s capital contribution to the Hunter project.
What’s next
Watch for an NYCEDC request for proposals on the lot, or a filing naming a new owner. For other CUNY-linked deals, see the New York market page, or the Bronx General Post Office sale to CUNY.
On the record
What we checked ourselves, and where you can check it too.
- Public recordACRIS deed 2026100500500001, listed Oct. 7, 2026, conveys Manhattan block 1485, lot 115 from the City University Construction Fund to the New York City Economic Development Corporation for $43,085,886.View the record on a836-acris.nyc.gov
- Public recordThe Construction Fund's Feb. 29, 2024 Resolution No. 2419 says it bought the site from NYCEDC by a deed dated March 30, 2015, appraised it at $188,000,000 in October 2022, and owed $27,750,000 to Memorial Sloan Kettering for foundation work plus an estimated $11,250,000 in bonds to defease, for a net value of about $149,000,000. The $43.09M deed price is 23% of the appraisal.View the record on cuny.edu
- Our dataPLUTO lists lot 115 at 524 East 74 Street with a 26,564 square foot lot, C1-9 zoning and 448,573 square feet of building area. The price works out to about $1,622 per square foot of lot and $96 per square foot of listed building area.View the record on zola.planning.nyc.gov
Sources
- NYC ACRIS, deed document 2026100500500001Deed, City University Construction Fund to New York City Economic Development Corporation, amount $43,085,886
- NYC Open Data, PLUTO (64uk-42ks), Manhattan block 1485 lot 115524 East 74 Street, 26,564 sq ft lot, C1-9 zoning, owner City University Construction Fund
- CUNY, City University Construction Fund Resolution No. 2419, Feb. 29, 2024Authorizes transfer of the 74th Street site to NYCEDC; cites $188M appraisal, $27.75M owed to MSK, $11.25M in bonds