A Foot in Downtown Manhattan: New Housing Confirmed
The Riff Downtown hotel is located on 102 Greenwich Street. Photo Credit: The King's College
Out from Hanover and 90 Washington, students in the House of Susan B. Anthony and Clara Barton will have a new place to call home starting in the upcoming fall semester.
On Tuesday, The King’s College closed a deal and bought the former Riff Downtown hotel on 102 Greenwich Street.
After brokers arm wrestled back and forth, it’s finally official. The building belongs to the school, The King's College confirmed on Wednesday.
Acting President Tim Gibson was joined by some of the faculty and staff Thursday morning to pray for the building and the future residences.
When Gibson first announced the prospects of owning a new building, he said it's an opportunity for a "new King's."
"It anchors us in the Financial District in a way that we have not been when we're simply renting our space," Gibson told EST in an earlier interview.
A video displaying the Riff Downtown hotel rooms. This is a video of the hotel and not the finished product of The King’s College housing.
The Houses of SBA and Barton can expect to live in two-person apartments with washers and dryers in the basement, which will also serve as a community space.
The building is conveniently located outside of the 1 train station and is a block away from the R train on Rector Street. It's only a five minute walk from the college.
Regarding how rooms will be chosen, the selection order will be weighted similarly to how it was done in April.
Student Life is beginning to contact students on the list to decide which room they would like. The email will also include a recommendation on which room options are the best.
Some apartments will have a door in between two rooms and most others will be studios. They either overlook the street or have direct access to a balcony facing the "open-air inner courtyard."
As students wait for their turn to pick, they should plan in advance to choose who their other roommate is.
There are some students on the waitlist though. They will be placed once the members of the House of SBA and Barton are addressed first.
"We expect to have space for everyone, but please be patient as we work through the process," said Jonathan Sheaffer, Assistant Director of Student Life, in an email to students.
Though the building is set to be ready for move-in day, there is a very small chance that something out of the school's control could affect the readiness of the rooms.
"We’ve carefully structured each component necessary to meet that goal and I have a very high degree of confidence that the King’s staff involved will control everything that is within their ability to control," Gibson told EST in an email.
The building will also include a 24/7 front desk service, according to the school's statement.
This building was paid for by a savings collection the school set aside and a large part came from a fundraising initiative fueled by an anonymous donor who wanted the college to buy real estate this year. The donor offered a two to one donation for each dollar fundraised to achieve this goal.
Since The King’s College moved to Manhattan in 1999, this former hotel will be the first piece of real estate the school owns in the borough.
“It resembles a tremendous step forward in the College’s long-term strategic plan. This building is a tangible answer to prayer,” Gibson said in an email sent out to students on Wednesday.
This building is one of two new locations, (including the City Point residence in Downtown Brooklyn which students have begun to move into this summer), after the school left three other residences. The Clark Street, Hanover, and Wall Street buildings are no longer options for students looking to live on-campus.
Corrections: This article was edited to include a response the school sent EST in an email and a separate email to students signed up for the Greenwich apartment.