Columbia University Buying Up A Storm

Columbia University is officially on a buying spree for Manhattanville property.

City records shows that the university closed today on two more properties, both on 131st Street, for approximately $18.6 million total. The two addresses--615 West 131st Street and 633 West 131st Street--sit on a block that may soon be owned entirely by Columbia. Calls to the university for comment were not immediately returned.

Just yesterday, The Observer reported that Columbia had closed on a vacant building at 3270 Broadway between 131st and 132nd streets for $10.4 million; and, last week, the Ivy League institution closed on 635 West 131st Street for $2.26 million.

Today’s purchase brings the number of properties that Columbia has acquired in the Manhattanville footprint over the last two weeks to four, and we're not at all suprised--in fact, we expect more closings soon. The university plans a massive northward expansion into Manhattanville that could transform West Harlem forever.