Judge rejects UWS school’s bankruptcy financing plan, building valued at $38M
150 West 85th Street (Credit - Cyclomedia)
A federal bankruptcy judge yesterday denied the Manhattan Country School’s motion seeking up to $8 million in new debt superior to the approximately $24 million held by Flushing Bank, which is secured by the private school’s building at 150 West 85th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The school values the building at about $38 million.
The judge’s ruling allows the school to resubmit a new financing plan.
Bloomberg reported that with the failure to get the financing, the school may close as early as this month.
The school filed for bankruptcy May 16 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
Case 25-11009-dsj LINK
Manhattan Country School ch 11
Manhattan Country School bought the building from the New School for $28 million on January 23, 2015, borrowing at the time $31 million from Ladder Capital. That loan was paid off in 2020. Meanwhile, between 2016 and 2019, the school borrowed approximately $25 million in bonds and debt that ultimately were acquired by Flushing Bank, and as of 2022 the total principal debt was approximately $24 million.
In October 2024, Flushing Bank filed a pre-foreclosure action, 850377/2024, against the school.
According to that complaint, the borrowers, “defaulted under the terms of the Note Deferment Agreement as a result of, inter alia, in failing and omitting to pay the Deferred Amount (as defined therein) of interest which became due and payable in full on July 1, 2022… defaulted under the terms of the October 2023 Forbearance Agreement and the Restated Note and Consolidated Mortgage, as a result of, inter alia, in failing and omitting to pay the monthly payments due under the October 2023 Forbearance Agreement on April 1, 2024, May 1, 2024, and June 1, 2024…defaulted under the terms of the Restated Note and Consolidated Mortgage, as a result of, inter alia, in failing and omitting to pay the monthly payments due July 1, 2024 and each month thereafter.”
Flushing Bank objected to the bankruptcy financing plan, and said in court papers, “The Motion seeks authority for the Debtor to borrow up to an initial $2,000,000.00 for the next four months on an interim basis from ‘Casa Laxmi SA or NSI SA, entities working in affiliation with the Casa Laxmi Foundation and the Nayan Shah Foundation’ (the “DIP Lender”), and a further borrowing on a final basis of up to $6,000,000.00, for a total debtor in possession loan of up to $8,000,000.”
The May 16 bankruptcy petition values the 38,838 square foot building at 150 West 85th Street at $38 million, or $978 per foot, and an upstate farm at 3536 New Kingston Road, Roxbury, at $1.69 million.
The school has revenue of about $6.3 million per year.
The property
The specialty building in Upper West Side has 38,838 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 75 feet and is 102 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,575 square feet. The zoning is R8B which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $11 million.
Prior sales and revenue
This property was sold for $28 million on January 23, 2015.
Development
Over the past five years, there has been no NYC Department of Buildings new building, demolition, or alteration permit application valued at more than $20,000 filed for this parcel.
For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on February 3, 2017.
Violations and lawsuits
According to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.
The property was involved in one lawsuit and zero bankruptcies over the past two years. The suit was a $24 million commercial foreclosure concerning a loan, filed on October 7, 2024, by Flushing Bank against Manhattan Country School and Michele Sola.
The neighborhood
In Upper West Side, The majority, or 59 percent of the 52.9 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space. In sales, Upper West Side has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $1.1 billion in sales volume in the last two years and is the 9th highest in Manhattan. For development, Upper West Side has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 14th highest in Manhattan. It had 2.7 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 5 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the six commercial properties representing 275,003 square feet of the 362,639 square feet. The two identified owners are NYC Department Of Education and Shore Assets. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.
The surrounding
Within a 400-foot radius of 156 West 85 Street, PincusCo identified two commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. One of those two items was a sale which Shinwa Real Estate Co., Ltd bought the 11,880-square-foot, 20-unit rental (C5) on 159 West 85th Street for $8.8 million from Brand Family Realty on April 10, 2025. One of those two items was a loan which Shinwa Real Estate Co., Ltd borrowed $8.8 million from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation secured by the 7,120-square-foot, 20-unit rental (C5) on 159 West 85th Street and one other property on April 10, 2025.
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page.