Saffayeh, Fouerti in contract to pay $19M for Chelsea school building

A partnership led by Gabriel Saffayeh, Robert Saffayeh, of the Saffayeh Group, and Elie Fouerti of Fouerti Realty has secured approval to acquire the Corlears School building at 322-324 West 15th Street in Chelsea for $19 million, a filing from the New York State Attorney General’s office shows. The document did not provide a fixed closing date, but said, “there is a short closing period upon receipt of the required approvals.”

Attorney General approval  LINK

The Corlears School announced last year that it would narrow its educational focus from a full elementary school teaching through fifth grade, to an early childhood model teaching toddlers, nursery and PreK. This school year 2025 to 2026 is the final one it will offer education for kindergarten through fifth grade.

The attorney general approval document does not mention how the buyers will utilize the building. JLL and Open Impact Real Estate marketing material on Revere says, “The Property is a prime candidate for a residential conversion in a pristine neighborhood of NYC. Additionally, the Property presents educational or nonprofit organizations with move-in-ready facilities in excellent condition.” The property is about two blocks north of the Greenwich Village Historic District and a block east of the Gansevoort Market Historic District.

The transaction, structured through the buyers’ 324 West 15th Street LLC, involves the purchase of a 19,777-square-foot school building situated mid-block lot between Eighth and Ninth avenues. The property is a single tax lot formed from three 25-foot buildings that were combined previously.

The deal received the green light from New York Attorney General Letitia James on April 13, 2026, following a petition by the nonprofit educational institution to dispose of substantially all of its assets, which is a requirement for nonprofits.

The Saffayeh and Fouerti-led entity is purchasing the property under a contract originally dated September 25, 2025. The terms of the deal are notably favorable to the seller, as the buyers agreed to an “as-is” purchase with no financing contingencies. Furthermore, the $19 million purchase price exceeds the property’s appraised value, according to the approval documents, representing a significant investment in the Chelsea corridor by the trio.

The buyers also allowed for a flexible transition period, granting Corlears School the ability to remain in the building post-closing via a license agreement through the end of 2026.

For Corlears School, the $19 million sale price from the Saffayeh and Fouerti group provides a critical financial lifeline. The school intends to use the proceeds to completely eliminate its debt, including an $11 million first mortgage and $1.82 million in community loans. After accounting for closing costs—which include a $855,000 broker fee and $123,500 in transfer taxes—the school will relocate to a smaller, leased facility to focus on its early childhood mission.

The Attorney General has mandated that $1.8 million of the net proceeds be held in a restricted fund specifically for the costs of this relocation.The deal underscores the ongoing demand for institutional-grade footprints in Chelsea, even as the neighborhood’s educational landscape shifts. The buyers are represented in the agreement by 324 West 15th Street Members LLC, which serves as the parent entity for the purchasing vehicle. Per the regulatory approval, the school must provide the state with a final closing statement within 30 days of the transaction’s completion to ensure the proceeds are distributed according to the court-approved plan.

The property

The specialty building with 2 residential units in Chelsea has 19,777 square feet of built space and 9,409 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 29,176 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has four buildings with frontage of 75 feet and is 103 feet deep with a total lot size of 7,294 square feet. The lot is irregular. 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 $2.9 million. The most recent loan totaled $2.5 million and was provided by 324 West 15th Street LLC on November 21, 2025.

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 September 21, 2012.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Chelsea, The bulk, or 35 percent of the 52.5 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Chelsea has the 8th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.5 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Chelsea has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 15th highest in Manhattan. It had 3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 14 of the 26 commercial properties representing 205,321 square feet of the 322,590 square feet. The largest owner is BNF Capital, followed by Corlears School and then Felix Bernardo. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Corlears School owned at least one commercial property with two residential units in New York City with 19,777 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $17.9 million in debt, borrowed from Urban Standard Capital and Piermont Bank. The portfolio consists of at least a single specialty property. It is located in Manhattan.

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Robert Fantauzzi, head officer and David Egolf, officer. The business entity is Corlears School.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.