Equality Charter School's $67.8M bond loan backs a $54.5M Bronx buy

Equality Charter School’s real estate arm took title to 801 Bartholdi Street in the Bronx for $54,500,000 and recorded a $67,835,000 mortgage naming Build NYC Resource Corporation as lender. Both documents hit ACRIS on September 11, 2026. The borrower of record is ECS 801 Bartholdi, LLC, whose sole member is Friends of Equality Charter School, Inc., per Build NYC’s own notice.

Why it matters

A loan larger than the price looks like a cash-out. This one is not, on the record. Build NYC’s public notice describes tax-exempt and/or taxable bonds to buy a four-story building that was under renovation and to pay for renovation, site work, furnishing and equipping. The extra $13,335,000 over the price therefore sits in the construction and fit-out budget, not in a payout.

For New York developers and lenders, the deal shows how a school operator can lock a building and fund its conversion in one conduit-bond package. The seller, BMAD Bartholdi LLC, was paid $54,500,000 on a deed dated September 3.

The numbers

• Deed: $54,500,000, seller BMAD Bartholdi LLC, buyer ECS 801 Bartholdi, LLC, recorded September 11, 2026.
• Mortgage: $67,835,000, dated September 1, 2026, recorded the same day, covering block 4633, lots 1001 to 1003.
• Building: about 63,898 sq ft on a 28,805 sq ft lot, according to the City Record notice.
• Advertised bonds: $62,435,000 at the September 25, 2025 hearing. The recorded mortgage is $5,400,000 higher, and the filings we pulled do not say why.
• Enrollment: up to 875 students from Kindergarten through Grade 5 and Grades 9 through 12.

What’s next

The record does not show the final bond sizes, rates or maturities; those sit in the bond documents, not ACRIS. Watch Department of Buildings filings for the renovation scope. For other Bronx deal flow, see the New York hub and our earlier look at the Bronx post office sale to CUNY.