JLL arranges 40,000 s/f lease for charter school at 240 Bleecker St.

New York, NY JLL has arranged a transaction to relocate the Great Oaks Charter School (GO-NYC), a local school with a focus on college preparation for middle and high school students, to occupy nearly 40,000 s/f at 240 Bleecker St.

JLL arranged a 20-year lease for GO-NYC to occupy approximately 39,064 s/f of the six-story property formerly occupied by the Archdiocese of New York’s grammar school at Our Lady of Pompeii Church. The church will continue to operate from its adjacent location at 25 Carmine St. on the eastern corner of Bleecker.

The move will enable GO-NYC to relocate from 38 Delancey St. and expand its program to serve 350 students from grades six through 12.

Founded in 2011 as the non-profit GO Foundation and dedicated to individual tutoring, talent and community development, GO Fellows now serve over 3,000 students in eight school facilities located in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware. The Foundation recruits and trains young adults who are placed in its schools to intensively tutor students as a part of a year of service through the federal AmeriCorps program. 

Situated on the corner of Carmine St. a few steps from the West 4th St. subway station, the Our Lady of Pompeii church was originally built by the Catholic church in 1928 to replace an earlier church that had been demolished during the widening of Sixth Ave. Designated an NYC Landmark in 2010, it served as home to Our Lady of Pompeii grammar school for 90 years, until it closed in 2021 during the pandemic.

“In the decade since the GO Foundation began preparing students for college success through high-dosage tutoring, it has grown to serve communities throughout the Northeast,” said Michael Thomas Duffy, president of GO Foundation. “Our relocation to this historic property steeped in educational culture will enable us to contribute to the vitality of the neighborhood by attracting and creating social, human and investment capital through our pioneering education programs.”

GO-NYC was represented by JLL vice chairmen Joseph Messina and Matt Astrachan, executive managing director Daniel Posy, managing director Jessica Berkey, senior vice president Peter Michailidis and vice president Zachary Azus. The Archdiocese of New York was represented by Beatrice Sibblies and Thomas Vitiello of BOS Development LLC.

“We are delighted to have been able to arrange a transaction that enables GO-NYC to continue to enhance its unique educational services while bringing life back to a neighborhood institution,” said Messina. “GO-NYC is one of the city’s top public charter schools and it will now have the space it needs to grow in a neighborhood rich in cultural diversity and surrounded by easy transit options and lively retail.”