New York - The United Charities, an organization comprised of the Community Service Society, The Children’s Aid Society and the New York City Mission Society, today announced that it has engaged a commercial real estate broker to explore possible sale of The United Charities Building, located at 105 East 22nd Street (aka 287 Park Avenue South). The broker, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, was chosen after a competitive bidding process.
United Charities members are long-standing nonprofit groups – each over 160 years old –dedicated to serving disadvantaged and vulnerable communities in New York City. The United Charities Building was purpose-built as their headquarters at the turn of the last century. Understanding that times have changed and that a sale of the Building in the current real estate market could realize significant funding for its member organizations – the United Charities Board of Directors’ vote to retain a broker was unanimous.
United Charities’ member organizations rely on a number of funding sources, including private and foundation giving as well as government grants, to sustain their respective missions. Exploring the possible sale of the building is consistent with each organization’s strategic approach to leveraging assets and resources in order to continue their work far into the future.
“Positioning the Community Service Society to continue its work and mission of serving low income New Yorkers requires thinking strategically,” said Community Service Society President and CEO David R. Jones. ”CSS’s mission is not tied to this building or to our Gramercy Park location. Under that premise, we are exploring a potential sale to augment our endowment and ensure the sustainability of the organization and its mission for decades to come.”
“Children's Aid has to regularly re-evaluate the most effective use of our resources in order to achieve our goal of creating cradle-through-college pathways for young people in New York City’s most economically distressed neighborhoods,” said The Children’s Aid Society Interim President and CEO Bill Weisberg. “As we continue to grow and generate increased interest in our work, selling this property and creating a modernized central service hub that better meets our needs can help facilitate that expansion.”
“New York City Mission Society has provided services to New York City’s most underserved communities for over 200 years,” said New York Mission Society Interim Executive Director Maria Orengo. “We view a potential sale as a strategy to sustain our mission and vision to help New Yorkers in need as we enter our third century of service.”
For more than 170 years, the Community Service Society of New York has been the leading voice on behalf of low-income New Yorkers and continues to advocate for the economic security of the working poor in the nation’s largest city. We respond to urgent, contemporary challenges with applied research, advocacy, litigation and innovative program models that help the working poor achieve a better quality of life and promote a more prosperous city.
The Children’s Aid Society helps children in poverty to succeed and thrive. We do this by providing comprehensive supports to children and their families in targeted high-needs New York City neighborhoods.
New York City Mission Society is a 200 year old multi-service community-based organization that improves the lives of children, youth, and families in the city’s most underserved communities. Through programs and services that respond to community needs, we create cycles of success for generation to come. We have a dynamic portfolio of education, workforce development, prevention, and youth development and community-building programs that serves youth and families in Harlem, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. For additional information, please visit www.nycmissionsociety.org