Northeastern purchased a $5.5 million, 4,000-square-foot townhouse located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan Aug. 19, according to a deed filed in the New York City Register’s Office.
Located on 247 E. 71st St., the three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom residence provides the university additional real estate on the same block as Marymount Manhattan College — the liberal arts college which Northeastern in May announced it would acquire.
The university purchased the property from S.K.I. Realty, entering a contract with the New York-based real estate group July 19 and confirming the all-cash deal Aug. 19. Crain’s New York Business first reported the acquisition.
It’s unclear what the university will use the building for, and Northeastern spokespeople declined to answer questions regarding the property’s purpose.
It’s possible the university could use the building as a residence or renovate it to use as educational or social space. Per reporting from Crain’s, Marymount purchased a similar townhouse nearby in 2010 and later converted it into a faculty center.
Northeastern announced the merger with Marymount May 29, marking the university’s upcoming expansion into what would be its 14th campus. Marymount’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to merge with Northeastern in the wake of declining enrollment and retention, as well as climbing operating costs.
It is unclear when the merger will officially be completed and the process will likely span several years, a result of new regulations from the Department of Education that went into effect in July which increased government oversight of and involvement in university mergers and acquisitions.
The August deal comes months after the university purchased a $5 million, two-story penthouse located at 1A Joy St. in Boston in January, which the Fenway News first reported in March. The university also declined to comment on this purchase, but it is the latest of several units Northeastern has purchased in the building.
In September 2023, the university bought a $2.4 million unit in the same building, 1A Joy St. Unit 3, after having previously purchased the building’s second unit in 2007.
The property is located next to Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun’s 34 Beacon St. residence, which the university purchased in September 2006, per a deed in the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds, and was most recently assessed at $12 million.
