Bronx, NY OPEN Impact Real Estate (OPEN), a woman-owned commercial real estate services company specializing in non-profit organizations, has secured a 50,000 s/f extension for Catholic Guardian Services. This extension is part of a two-transaction portfolio optimization strategy designed to meet the unique community and district needs of Catholic Guardian.
Catholic Guardian, one of the largest human services agencies in New York, offers a wide range of services and programs, including child welfare, family support, developmental disabilities, immigration, and mental health services. Their mission is to provide aid to those in need, create hope, and guide those seeking better lives. By delivering supportive interventions and a variety of programs, Catholic Guardian helps individuals while preserving their dignity. The primary purpose of their spaces is to serve as client-facing programming centers for foster families, unaccompanied children, and other social service programs, along with associated administrative components.
Between these two program hubs, Catholic Guardian serves over 1,500 clients and families in the Bronx.
The first part of this transaction involved OPEN securing a 10-year lease extension for Catholic Guardian’s East Bronx Program Hub at 1990 Westchester Ave. This site currently houses programs including foster care, services for unaccompanied children, and an Article 31 mental health clinic. The extension encompasses the entire building, providing 25,000 s/f of space. The terms of the extension are advantageous and in alignment with the current market in the East Bronx. As part of this agreement, OPEN also negotiated a tenant improvement (TI) allowance to facilitate the renovation of the space to better meet the program’s needs.
The renovation plans include a new base building system and enhancing the front-of-house visitor experience with more open space and modernized finishes, furniture, fixtures, and equipment. These improvements will help accommodate the high client foot-traffic while offering a dignified and comfortable experience for clients and their families. Furthermore, the renovation will reconfigure the administrative space with a modernized open layout, allowing for increased office and conference space and supporting more staff.
In the second part of the transaction, OPEN secured a 5-year lease extension for Catholic Guardian’s Central Bronx Program and Administrative Hub at 1780 Grand Concourse. This extension encompasses the entire second floor of the building, providing 25,000 s/f of space and offers Catholic Guardian the potential to renovate and optimize this space in the future.
OPEN brokers Stephen Powers, Lindsay Ornstein, Jake Cinti and Julia Fish worked closely with Craig Longley, CEO of Catholic Guardian, to establish both leases, providing stability and flexibility for the organization. Christopher Betting and Dean Rosenzweig of CBRE represented the landlord in the transaction at 1990 Westchester Ave.; OPEN represented both the landlord and the tenant in the transaction at 1780 Grand Concourse.
Stephen Powers, co-founder of OPEN, shared his thoughts on this achievement, said, “We are proud to have played a role in helping Catholic Guardian secure the space they need to expand their programs, provide an elevated experience for their clients, and grow their meaningful impact providing critical services to underrepresented communities in the Bronx.”
Craig Longley, CEO of Catholic Guardian Services, expressed his satisfaction, said, “We are pleased to have secured our presence in both of these Bronx communities to ensure that CGS can expand its program offering to support more underserved children and families and create an elevated experience for our clients.”
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