St. John’s University puts Staten Island campus up for sale — with no plans to house migrants
St. John’s University has put its scenic Staten Island campus on the market for sale — 16.5 acres of prime real estate overlooking New York Harbor that one government official cracked could become a “migrant village.”
The Grymes Hill property likely becomes one of the largest parcels on the market in New York City.
“It’s a big space. It could become a migrant village,” said one government official who tracks real estate listings — only half in jest.
Mayor Eric Adams’ team has been scouring the city real estate listing for places to shelter the influx of thousands of asylum seekers coming from the southern border.
But the solicitation released by St. John’s and its global real estate broker Savills said ideally the goal is to sell the Grymes Hill property to another educational institution — when the campus closes after the 2024 spring semester .
“With 10 academic and administrative buildings, set over a picturesque 16.5-acre campus, the property presents a pre-assembled opportunity for an overseas or out-of-state educational institution to plant a flag in New York City, one of the United States’ most popular education centers with more than 200 colleges and one million college students within a 25-mile radius,” Savills said in the marketing pitch obtained by The Post.
The solicitation promotes the property’s scenic harbor views, its proximity to the Staten Island Expressway, the ferry, and that it’s just 23 minutes from Newark Airport and 32 minutes from JFK International Airport.
The property is in an R3-1 zone that permits community facility uses such as colleges or universities, as well as hospitals, medical centers or senior living facilities, the solicitation said.
But the low-density district also allows detached and semi-detached one- and two-family homes. The city is grappling with a dearth of affordable housing, making the site tantalizing for residential development.
SJU — whose main campus is in the Hillcrest/Jamaica section of Queens — could easily fetch tens of millions of dollars for the hilly green jewel.
St. Francis College in Brooklyn recently sold its Brooklyn Heights property for $160 million.
“Savills—the broker for St. John’s University—has received inquiries from potential buyers across varied segments that the Staten Island campus is zoned for. To date, neither the city nor the state has expressed an interest in purchasing the property,” said St. John’s spokesman Brian Browne.
“We have not listed a purchase price for the campus as we are still in the early stages of this process. We are confident that Savills will find the right buyer for the future of this property who will be a good neighbor to the surrounding community.”
Elected officials and neighbors to SJU’s island campus oppose use of the property for migrants, or even conversion into one and two family homes.
“We’ve been given no indication that St. John’s University’s campus on Grymes Hill is being considered for migrant housing, but should that change, rest assured, we would do everything in our power to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Staten Island Borough President.
“No way, no how.”
City Hall had no immediate comment.
St. John’s island campus was once floated as a site for former President Donald Trump’s library.
St. John’s island campus opened in 1971, but it has experienced a steady decline in enrollment. Factors contributing to the drop include the closure of feeder Catholic high schools and an overall reduction in college-age students.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the dwindling enrollment.
The campus has a capacity for 3,000 but now enrolls about 800, nearly two-thirds fewer students than in 2000. Virtually all the courses there are offered at SJU’s main campus.