By Gus Saltonstall
An Upper West Side building slated to become a homeless shelter for single women that formerly housed Calhoun School’s lower school has sold for $26.4 million, as first reported by Crain’s New York.
It is the second time in two years that the property at 160 West 74th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, has changed hands.
The building was bought from the school in 2023 for $14 million by Bayrock Capital, which originally said it would turn the address into a luxury condominium residence, before changing its plans in the winter of that year to a homeless shelter. Now, Bayrock Capital has sold the building to the real estate firm Apex Investments for $26.4 million, meaning it made more than $12 million on the property in the span of two years.
A spokesperson from the New York City Department of Social Services confirmed to West Side Rag that the address, despite the new owner, will still become a homeless shelter for single women, but did not confirm when it would open. The opening date of the shelter on West 74th Street was first slated for the fall of 2024, before being pushed back to early 2025. As we near the start of 2026, it remains unclear.
Volunteers of America, which signed a $79.6 million contract with the Department of Social Services for the address, will remain the provider for the shelter. The nonprofit will offer on-site case management, job development, medical and legal services, mental-health help, food, security, and more.
West Side Rag will update this story if we learn more about the opening timeline.
Read More:
- City Contract Reveals New Details on Incoming UWS Homeless Shelter: Opening Date, $79.6M Payment, Renewal Option
- ‘Save The Former Calhoun School Building’ Postcards Arrive in UWS Mailboxes
- Former UWS Calhoun School Building Will Be Women’s Shelter For At Least 9 Years: CB7 Meeting
- City Approves Building-Design Changes to Incoming 74th Street Shelter: What’s Next?
- UWS Community Board Votes in Favor of Building Design Changes for Incoming 146-Bed Shelter: LPC Vote Set for Jan. 9
- 146-Bed Women’s Homeless Shelter Opening Fall of 2024 in Former UWS Private School
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I think transitional housing is different than shelter housing. The limits on stay are different and we don’t really have input directly from the new owners yet. It seems that Apex wants to do more renovations. Is that correct?
These homeless shelter companies are a racket grifting hundreds of millions of dollars a year from city coffers for “management. ” They will get 80 million dollars a year to run the shelter.
The article doesn’t say 80 million per year.
It’s likely at least a 5 year contract.
Hopefully Zohran will weed out some of this.
Hahahaha. He will do nothing
Zohran, another one for the bulletin board. Let’s shock Sara.
..unless he tries to legalize weed along with prostitution :/
hahaha, don’t hold your breath
I would not hold my breath for anything anymore, but I do wish the New Mayor success.
You think he has the ability to? He has never run anything in his life. Your expectations are too high
He ran a train on cuomo lmao
This is terrible. This should have been turned into at least market rate apartments and housing. Why a homeless shelter in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the US.
For all those who can afford $7500 per month.
Tim, We on the upper Westside need to not only share our wealth we need to share our neighborhoods. I’m extremely grateful to our leaders Bill de Bladio, Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Zohron Mamdani and of course Kathy Hochul for making these shelters possible. I can’t wait for the next elections so I can vote for them again-and you really should too.
Regardless of your position on the political spectrum, are you fine having shelters for $1500 per bed per night? I’m not.
They are being sarcastic
Can you provide a link or explain your basis for using $1500 per bed per night?
Since my moniker is used by someone else I would like to confirm that I’m not at all ok with these numbers.
Yes Christine I am.
I’d rather the homeless have housing than see increasing numbers of them struggling outside this winter as economic conditions worsen under this admin
These homeless have been on the streets of New York since 2008 Luke
There is a shelter a block away from me. There has never been any problem at all. Those living there are friendly and well behaved. Also live half block away from Volunteers of America. Never a problem in 33 years.
I agree with you Sharon.
This is not progress, let alone progressive.
But where would you have them then RCP?
High irony!
A little NIMBY from you.
The UWS has at least a 1000 Supportive housing beds. More than any area in NYC outside of the Bronx. How about some research before judgement?
Sue, There are at least 30,000 homeless in NYC. Having them in Manhattan will cut down dramatically on any trouble the homeless might fall into.
So what? This is a good thing, otherwise you’d have 1k people sleeping rough on the streets or in the trains
Can you provide a source for this statement?
It isn’t NIMBY. It is called basic economics. For the value of a few units in this building, one could build many more units elsewhere. Isn’t there a housing shortage and the goal to create as many units as possible? I would feel the same way about a similar situation in a neighborhood far from where I live.
I’m a Democrat. And attitudes like yours are why people hate us. Constantly virtue signaling rather than being practical.
Carlos, It is definitely NIMBY. All of these high rises in Manhattan built since at least 2008 are sitting 40 to 60% empty not to mention the empty office space so why not put the undocumented immigrants and the homeless in them?
I like that idea,
I would also rotate the housing in NYCHA, have the tenants be rotated out and replaced with undocumented immigrants and homeless, it seems only fair.
I would also do the same for rent stabilized and rent control apartments.
Undocumented immigrants and the homeless should be given a fair chance and opportunities.
Exactly!!!!!
Because this isn’t Long Island?
Mark, Homeless and migrant shelters should be in Manhattan and Chappaqua and Yorktown Heights, New York so that not only do we share the responsibility it’s, as the great Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes rightly says “ When the homeless and migrants are in distinct areas as I listed Manhattan, Yorktown Heights and Chappaqua, New York they will thrive and we Manhattan liberals need to share a little of our wealth and happiness with them.”
Would you, or AOC, move into a building next to a homeless shelter? I bet the answer is “No”
Consider your bet lost.
Jaun, I don’t profess to speak for AOC but I would.
I grew up on the UWS in a building next to an SRO.
It was fine. No public safety issues
“ When the homeless and migrants are in distinct areas as I listed Manhattan, Yorktown Heights and Chappaqua, New York they will thrive and we Manhattan liberals need to share a little of our wealth and happiness with them.”
– a completely nonsensical statement
Enough shelters. Enough.
🤣🤣🤣🤣. Love it!!!
Welcome because I do too!
It’s rich that this building went from expensive private school for the uber-wealthy to homeless shelter! Take that, snooty UWS! There’s a new sheriff in town!
Ahh John I agree 100%!
So now, in addition to all the dog feces and urine already on that block, we’ll have to be looking out for needles, vials and empty booze bottles. I wonder if the new residents will cozy up to everyone who lines up at Levain.
The dogs belong to the wealthy….
Well Dino, You made my point that after this women’s shelter we need in our upper Westside neighborhood a Men’s shelter, a Migrant shelter and a building where drug addicted people can shoot up safely given clean needles distributed by the government.
You’ll be getting your wish come January!
My wealthy neighbors are the ones who don’t pick up after their dogs.
THIS is true
I doubt that’s who’s not cleaning up and also doubt that you have actual firsthand knowledge to make such a claim. You see everything 24/7 on every UWS block?
They walk right out of their West End Ave bldg to the one down the block to smear the middle of the sidewalk with poop. Yes, it is quite common. And they lead Precious over to the flower beds, too.
I’ve seen plenty instances of this claim on this exact block
It’s the narcissism epidemic. “The rules don’t apply to me. I’m special.”
So Bayrock Capital generated 85% return (!) over 2 years just by securing a lucrative contract for the shelter with the city and locking-in annuity numbers for the building owner. Very few real estate investors can compete with this level of return in the current market.
Who else but the CITY would shell out $26.4 million for a property that sold for $14 million 2 years ago. Were there any improvements?
What political connections does Bayrock have?
Is there something unethical here?
$8mil in completely renovate the space.
The City didn’t purchase the building.
NYC didn’t directly purchase the building but the Department of Social Services’ $79.6 million contract with the Volunteers of America is financing the purchase. The City doesn’t even get an asset out of the deal. Question: Is the building taken off the tax rolls because of this deal?
Not really
This is just getting out of hand. It feels like the organizations meant to help the homeless are only getting richer, while the people who actually need help aren’t seeing any real benefits. Meanwhile, our neighborhoods are becoming less safe. We need to hold our elected officials accountable, because it seems like they’re building their careers at the expense of their constituents .
Stop electing Brewer and Co!
Brewer ran unopposed.
Yes!,Truth Indeed
New York is a racket! Make big bucks and get out! Buy low, sell high. Some day the taxpayer money is gonna run out.
Homeless shelters ruin neighborhoods. That’s what happened in the West 90s where I live. Now you can’t walk two blocks without encountering a raving lunatic of some kind.
Those shelters have been in the West 90s since before you lived in New York City….
And everyone just votes in the same people that allow shelters and “non-profits” to make MILLIONS of dollars with no accountability and no one getting the real help they need, while the homeless numbers keep expanding.
Such great elected officials you have all voted for. It’s going really well here over the last 10 years. Nice job. Those millions of dollars would benefit the people who truly need it if the proper people were managing this city and demanded accountability from DHS, the shelters and non-profits.. Let’s see what Zohran does.
This is totally out of hand the more of this the more we lose Upper Westside as we knew it… it’s heading back to the 1960’s/70s‼️
This has to stop!!!!
I actually lived in that grey building next door when it first opened as a newly renovated apt building around 1972. And then the school was a school. Now it will be a shelter, so in fact it would have been a lot better in the 1970s.
What is the benefit for Apex?
Is there a time limit for use as a shelter?
Would the property revert to market housing?
As a lifelong resident of the upper Westside I not only support this upcoming homeless shelter I want to see a men’s homeless shelter in this our neighborhood as well as undocumented migrants housing and a facility where people on drugs can shoot up safely. I want “color” in my my neighborhood. I am a liberal and I am sick and tired of hearing “I’m not racist, BUT, shelters don’t belong in Manhattan and Chappaqua and Yorktown Heights, New York”! Well yes they do! I welcome these homeless ladies and eventually homeless gentlemen too and will do everything necessary to help them. Lee
The homeless shelter is operating. They have been busing residents in late at night. This started over a week ago. Like everything else, it’s been done under the radar.
I wonder what will happen when this becomes transitional housing, as the real estate sale documents said.
Mamdani is coming. This return for the homeless industrial complex will look like peanuts then.
Isn’t this close to where Curtis Sliwa lives with his wife?
Yes, they live a few blocks away
Why is the Upper West Side Shelter and Supportive Housing Central? Because the community board has its own agenda separate from what residents want. Zero representation. Women need a shelter. Yet once again it’s placed here. Let other neighborhoods, like the Upper East due their fair share.
But they believe that these kind of services belong over here, because they pay a lot to live over there. That is the summary of a real conversation I overheard one day on the street when I used to work on the UES.
It is easier to put a homeless shelter on the Upper West Side than in Northeastern Queens. At least Upper West Siders have virtue signaling limousine liberals that will stand up for the unhoused. Northeastern Queens immigrant homeowners have zero tolerance for disorder.
All we hear is that families are the biggest need in homeless services but all that gets placed on UWS are shelters for single men or single women. No space is ever “right” for families. Funny how that plays out.
Why would anyone spend 26 million on a small building to house homeless, when you could spend the same amount of money a hundred blocks up to house more people.
Because they are going to get millons from the city to run it.
There are benefits to the UWS being a family friendly, wholesome and safe neighborhood with thriving business, an abundance of excellent schools, public and private, and lots of playgrounds. This was not always the case of the UWS but it has been built up to be all of these things.
I do not deny my outlook is NIMBY. It is. There are already a lot of shelters on the UWS and post Covid – this neighborhood has taken a hit in terms of businesses closing and people questioning how safe the neighborhood is anymore. I am very opposed to this shelter so close to families and kids.
We have districts in Manhattan – theatre district, jewelry district, business districts, etc.
UWS, in recent years, has been almost suburban in how family friendly, dog friendly and elderly friendly it is. It is a safe and family oriented residential district. I am tired of homeless shelters popping up where there should be affordable housing for families and people who want to integrate and enjoy the family and cultural resources in this district.
And yes I acknowledge this is a NIMBY perspective but it comes from wanting to protect what has been built here over a few decades.
So the UWS has had supportive housing and shelters for far longer than you’ve lived in this city. We’re talking well over half a century.
It is distinctly NOT the suburbs. Many of us are very happy with a mixed income neighborhood. This is not tarrytown. If you want to live in that setting, please move.
And who’s to say the *families* in supportive housing – and there are quite a few of those shelters on the US, in case you’d bother to check – don’t want to ‘integrate?’
This isn’t ‘NIMBY’ sentiment – what you’re voicing is classism. ‘No Poors In My Backyard’
Oye
Why here?
Staten Island barely gets homeless shelters and Gale Brewer’s best friend James Oddo worked hard to keep it that way. James Oddo also made sure that Staten Island was the only borough not to get a borough based jail and threatened a war on twitter when Oddo’s other friend Bill DeBlasio even contemplated a borough based jail on Staten Island
76.9 million to house homeless woman. Better to bus homeless woman to upstate and pay 1/8 th of this to house them. The city will never be affordable as long as taxs continue to rise.
Why stop at upstate? Why not pile them into a spaceship and remove them from our universe altogether. Then I supppose we can cut our “taxs”.
I live on West End Ave in the low 80’s. There is a large shelter for women with children right up the street. No problems. No hassles. Nothing but the occasional sight of a mother and a child, being given the chance at a dignified existence. Most people in the area probably don’t even realize it’s a shelter. Stop with all the pearl clutching. Helping others isn’t going to hurt you.
Helping others will not hurt us.
Supporting in perpetuity will.
This is not “helping others”. This is supporting homeless industrial complex where the only ones who benefit are high-paid execs.
Yes. In mid 80’s on WEA and there’s a women’s shelter with children two blocks down. Never a problem.
Now do shelters for single men and shelters for drug addicts. Better get your bubby’s pearls out of your dresser drawer first! 😀
Enough is right. The West 70s have become more useless more dirty and more unsafe. Simply cross to the East side and you can see Duane Reade with open shelves, no one living on the street and open stores as opposed to here which is a wasteland of vacant storefronts and wandering derelicts. Shame on these corrupt “landlords”. Does anyone have any foresight in planning and goal other than greed?
Volunteers of America even though a non profit does not disclose executive salaries. Now that is funny.
Check their online-available 990 tax forms. Lists five highest-paid employees
Another example of Gale Brewer rolling out the welcome mat. So glad she ran unopposed./s
Better in shelters than on the streets where they have invaded us.
Better not committing crimes and quality of life issues.
They are on the streets because of the shelters. Do you think they just stay indoors? The more you built, the more will come. San Francisco story – the number of homeless there is growing with the growth of supportive housing.
Nice bait and switch. Bought the building saying they were going to build market housing, only to sell to a homeless shelter racket.
Help me understand the pipeline. New residents move in. Is the expectation that they get the services they need to stabilize their lives and then secure a job so that enables them to afford housing? The affordable housing that doesn’t seem to be being built fast enough? Now, imagine if this space were converted to affordable perm housing off the bat? People on the wait lists could be moved in and integrate into the neighborhood or city. How is this really helping the housing problem in the city?
Or is it really about supporting the social services industry? Where affordable perm housing leads towards self sufficiency and sustainability?
Those Upper West Siders whose comments on the WSR show such negativity toward helping those in need — may you never know homelessness, and never ignore it.
Why is it when reporting is published about homeless shelters, there never seems to be any mention of what KIND of “management” will be provided, and seemingly “homeless status” is a fait acompli and a fixed state– e.g., Are we ever talking about actual good management with therapy, job training, education options? Or only an assumption that homeless is always a helpless and unchangeable state of being??
This is not a question of whether the homeless shelter should or shouldn’t be. These services are necessary. The question is why the building appreciated $12m in 2 yrs simply bc it secured the homeless contract. Do you think the homeless get any benefit out of the money being spent here? WHERE is the money going? Homeless services should not be a profit making business. This is YOUR tax money going into someone else’s pockets – and it’s NOT going to the homeless.
It’s already open.
California spends $50k per year on each homeless person. All it leads to is more homelessness. Deregulate the building of housing and stop this waste of money.
https://www.hoover.org/research/despite-california-spending-24-billion-it-2019-homelessness-increased-what-happened
I would like to understand how a bldg that cost over $26m can be used as a shelter. How much is the city going to pay in rent for the building?
What kind is real estate shenanigans are going on here? This should be investigated. Does the City end up paying more for the homeless shelter if the building sold for more money? Seems like a Trumpy scam to me.
Your name Caryn really suits you. Why shouldn’t there be homeless shelters in Manhattan?! Sounds like NIMBY to me. Thank goodness for Zohron Mamdani who fortunately will be putting more shelters of all kinds here in Manhattan where the homeless and the undocumented migrants and their families can live and thrive and not give into people like billionaire real estate developer Larry Fink of Blackrock. As a life long Manhattan resident I say “Welcome our new neighbors”!