DeVos Hall Put Up For Sale — Students Living On-Campus to Move to City Point

Freshmen move-in day, 2021. | Photo courtesy of The King’s College

DeVos Hall is being listed for sale and all on-campus students will be living in one building this fall, according to an announcement from the Board of Trustees on Tuesday, June 21.

Upperclassmen of the Houses of Susan B. Anthony, Queen Elizabeth I and Clara Barton who applied to stay in DeVos Hall for the Summer and Fall 2022 semesters were notified of the change in a Zoom meeting hosted before the announcement was made public.

“I realized the weekend beforehand that it [the Zoom meeting invite] sounded a lot like how QE1 found out we were moving to DeVos from One West,” Anya Hauschnekt, President of the House of Queen Elizabeth I said. “I actually asked Elise Whorton, who was on QE1 exec at the time, how they found out and this sounded very familiar to that.”

According to Dean of Students David Leedy, the 15 displaced students were given the choice to either back out of their lease by July 15 without penalty or recieve a one-time “housing relocation discount” of $1,500 ($750 per semester) for the 2022-2023 academic year if they opted to relocate to 436 Albee Square West, also known as City Point.

Students who chose to move to City Point had one week to assemble roommate groups and apartment selections for City Point applications before housing placements opened up to incoming freshmen on June 28. According to Megan Lassiter, Assistant Director of Residence Life, all 15 impacted students decided to move to City Point rather than break their lease and find off-campus housing.

“It was really stressful,” Meghan Huberty, a sophomore in the House of Clara Barton, said. “I luckily knew immediately someone from my house I knew I was going to live with… but knowing that we had to find two other people within a week was rather difficult. A lot of people are working during the summer, so it was hard to get a hold of other people right away as well. We got it figured out within two to three days, but it was really stressful in the meantime.”

Dean Leedy, Lassiter, Leticia Mosqueda and President Tim Gibson delivered the news to upperclassmen assigned to DeVos in Fall 2022 via Zoom on June 21. The mass email announcing the listing of 102 Greenwich Street for sale and the shift of all on-campus housing to 436 Albee Square West was sent out immediately following the call.

“I was told the news along with Anya and Jet, the other two presidents, in the morning on that Tuesday everything was announced,” Madilyni Atcovitz, President of the House of Susan B. Anthony, said. “There was a lot of benefit in having presidents know first, as it gave us a chance to talk directly with Student Development and be prepared to present an aggregate face.”

However, this courtesy wasn’t fully extended to the rest of student leadership. Only House presidents were notified beforehand, and other members of the three impacted House exec teams were not told of the change until the Zoom meeting.

“It was unfortunate that the rest of our exec teams had to find out with the rest of the residents,” Atcovitz said. “I think that it would have been helpful to have that conversation and present the entirety of the exec team as a united front.”

Downfalls of the move include a longer commute to the school, the loss of previously acquired single occupancy apartments and no longer having a freely available common area in the Breezeway.

Benefits of the move include being closer to students from other houses who also live in Brooklyn, the convenience of the City Point shopping center and the amenities that the Albee Square building provides such as larger apartments, a lounge, a gym and rooftop access.

“I will miss the convenience of the DeVos location in relation to King's, which aided my ability to pour into the House of QE1 and the comfort of a female-only living space,” Aizess Jones, a House Fellow for Queen Elizabeth I said. “However, I am happy that every student will experience the quality housing at City Point. I pray that this move provides more opportunities for great fellowship and unity between the whole student body.”

For House events and gatherings, the Student Development team encouraged the three affected House exec teams to focus on hosting events either at the school as before or in their own apartments. 

“I inquired one time for a student wanting to host a private event for 30 people,” Mosqueda said. “For five hours it was $850 and a $500 deposit. This is simply not money that houses have to spend, which is why we don't recommend hosting here, but it is an option of course… Houses have lived here for four years and always hosted in their apartments with no issues.”

According to Lassiter, Summer 2022 residents of DeVos Hall are staying in their apartments until a tentative move-out date currently set for August 15, which is open to adjustment based on when the cleanings and inspections for the DeVos and City Point apartments are scheduled.

“Given the current strength of the New York City residential real estate market, we expect a favorable response to the DeVos listing,” Frank Torino, Vice President of Finance, said. “I'm grateful to the Board of Trustees for their leadership in good stewardship over the college’s assets. As far as how the funds will be used, the college uses all donations to fund scholarships and its annual operating expenses.”

Forbes Magazine released a comprehensive Financial Grades for 905 private colleges on June 9, 2022. “Forbes College Financial Grades are designed to assess a private not-for-profit college’s balance sheet health and operational soundness,” the report explained. Within the report, The King’s College dropped from a B+ in 2021 to a C- in 2022. This placed the school on the Dunces list in the report.

“The Board [of Trustees] has not yet made a decision to sell the building,” Leedy said. “They will make that decision at a later date once we have offers to consider. The Board will only sell the building if the offer benefits the college.”

King’s purchased the building for $19 million in 2018. The current listing and offers are being handled through a commercial real estate broker. Information regarding the asking price of 102 Greenwich Street is not publicly available.

“I believe the consolidation to City Point will be a net positive for community at King’s,” Leedy said. “Having all residents in one location will afford more opportunities to connect and socialize, which should be a boon to community.”