150 West 85th Street on the Upper West Side, which formerly housed Manhattan Country School. Photo by Gus Saltonstall.
By Gus Saltonstall
An Upper West Side building that most recently served as home to a financially embattled private school is set to sell to a different neighborhood institution for tens of millions of dollars, as first reported by Bloomberg.
Geneva School of Manhattan, a “classical Christian school,” according to its website, currently located at 138 West 90th Street, is purchasing Manhattan Country School’s former six-floor building at 150 West 85th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus, court records show.
Manhattan Country School permanently closed in 2025 after declaring bankruptcy. According to a court filing on Thursday, bankruptcy advisers selected Geneva School of Manhattan’s $33.2 million bid to purchase the West 85th Street building.
The bid still needs to be approved by a New York state bankruptcy judge, which is expected to take place.
Proceeds from the sale of the building are expected to be used by Manhattan Country School to pay off nearly $30 million in debt.
Manhattan Country School opened in 1966 with a guiding principle of “radical love” and a mission of providing its students with academic excellence, intellectual freedom, social awareness, confidence, and first-hand knowledge of the natural world, according to its website.
On the other side of the transaction, Geneva School of Manhattan was founded in 1996 and bills itself as “the only classical Christian school in the city.”
“Our approach blends the enduring elements of classical learning and the eternal message of Scripture within the context of a supportive and vibrant community,” reads an “About” page on Geneva’s website.
It is not immediately clear what Geneva School plans to do with the new building if the sale is approved.
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