Fordham Buys Off-Campus Space in Manhattan

In an effort to consolidate its “off-campus operations” in Manhattan and thereby reduce administrative costs, Fordham has purchased nine floors of commercial real estate — roughly 90,000 square feet — in the Art Deco building at 45 Columbus Avenue, which is located right across the street from the school’s Lincoln Center campus, according to University officials.

“At the moment, our off-campus operations are housed among several different properties at varying distances from the campus proper,” Brian J. Byrne, Ph.D., vice president for the Lincoln Center campus, said in a statement. “The space at 45 Columbus is perfect for offices and limited classroom use, and will be much more convenient to the Lincoln Center campus, in addition to offering the University significant cost savings.”

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, said he was surprised when the opportunity to purchase the space presented itself.

“After careful consideration, we decided to purchase it because the purchase will enable us: a ) to save money on the rents that we presently pay for office space in midtown, b)  to relocate the operations presently performed at off-site locations in a building immediately across the street from the Lincoln Center campus, c) to provide us with much-needed additional classroom space for the schools located on the Lincoln Center campus,” he said through a spokesman.

The space, which represents all of the commercial real estate in the building, is currently owned by the College Board. The purchase is expected to close this June and Fordham administrators will move into the space in early 2015, according to school officials.