OPEN Impact Real Estate secures 77,000 s/f lease of former Catholic School

Brooklyn, NY OPEN Impact Real Estate (OPEN) has arranged a 15-year lease totaling 77,000 s/f for Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School, part of Launch Schools, securing one of the city’s few available purpose-built educational campuses and providing Launch High School with a permanent, purpose-built home in Sunset Park where it can continue serving students and families for generations to come.

Located at 5902 Sixth Ave., the transaction includes a 60,728 s/f school building and shared access to a regulation-size gymnasium on the campus owned by the Redemptorist Fathers of New York. Launch High School will relocate to the property in July 2027 following a series of meaningful improvements that will modernize the facility while preserving its long-standing educational use.

OPEN’s Jake Cinti and Eshaan Gandhi represented Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School. The Redemptorist Fathers of New York were represented by Cushman & Wakefield’s Frank Liantonio, Jason Kroger, Jonathan Squires, Josh Neustadter and Austin Weiner.

Founded as a middle school in 2012, Launch Schools expanded with the opening of Launch High School in fall 2025. Launch High School is entering its second year, serving ninth and 10th grades during the 2026-27 school year, and will continue adding one grade each year. The new campus provides the long-term space and specialized educational facilities needed to support that growth while strengthening the organization’s experiential learning model.

Originally occupied by Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy, the full-block campus includes a 16,000 s/f regulation-size gymnasium, a dedicated cafeteria, a 7,600 s/f auditorium, and multiple outdoor recreation areas and playgrounds — amenities that are increasingly difficult to find in existing educational facilities throughout New York City. These purpose-built educational spaces will support Launch High School’s personalized, experiential and career-connected learning model by providing dedicated environments for academics, athletics, collaboration, leadership development and community programming.

Launch Schools is a Brooklyn-based public charter school organization currently serving students in grades 6-10 and expanding through high school one grade at a time. Its educational model is grounded in personalized, experiential and career-connected learning, combining hands-on instruction, character development, leadership and community engagement to prepare students with the knowledge, skills and character to build a better world. Launch also partners with Runway Green, an independent nonprofit focused on experiential education, workforce development and green-career pathways, with Launch serving as its first Lab School.

As part of the lease, Launch will invest in meaningful improvements to the property before occupancy, enhancing the campus for future generations of students.

The transaction also reflects OPEN’s longstanding expertise advising mission-driven educational organizations on complex real estate strategies. In addition to securing Launch High School’s permanent campus, OPEN previously represented Launch Schools in leasing its temporary high school location, helping the organization execute a phased expansion while identifying a permanent home aligned with its educational mission and long-term commitment to the Sunset Park community.