Seton Education Partners
Location: South Bronx
Date Involved: 2018-2020
Seton Education Partners (“Seton”) is a national non-profit that serves as the charter management organization to the Brilla College Preparatory Charter School (“Brilla”) network. Seton aims to expand opportunities for parents in underserved communities to choose an academically excellent, character rich, and—for those who seek it—vibrantly Catholic education for their children.
We have partnered with Seton on several real estate projects over the last several years as they have worked to expand the network of Brilla schools to ensure that thousands of underserved children have access to a holistic education that produces outstanding academic growth, strong moral character, and vibrant communities.
In 2019, we worked with Seton to develop a real estate and financing plan that best fit Seton’s culture, financial resources, timing requirements and space needs. After completing that phase of the project, we helped Seton manage a successful site search in the South Bronx for two new elementary schools scheduled to open in August 2020. We also worked in 2019 with Seton to evaluate a Diocese-owned property to determine if the property could be renovated affordably to accommodate teacher housing and a gymnasium.
In 2020, we supported Seton in the negotiation of 12,000 sq. ft. of office space to establish a new headquarter space for the home office.
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Project Information
Size: 70,500 sq. ft.
Budget: $10.4M
Team: Newmark Knight Frank (broker), Barton Gilman LLP (real estate attorney), PellOverton Architects, MG Engineering and Silman Engineering
In October 2018, Seton received an approval from its charter authorizer to open two elementary schools (Brilla Caritas and Brilla Pax) by August 2020. During the first year, the two schools are expected to serve 90 Kindergarten students, eventually growing to serve 450 students (Kindergarten – 4th grade). Before embarking on a successful site search, we helped Seton determine how much space they needed for their students and staff, best location to meet Seton’s needs, identify the tasks that needed to be completed, and in what sequence, to ensure the new elementary school spaces are ready by August, 2020, and an estimate of the capital and occupancy costs associated with a purchase and a lease scenario.
With site search requirements on hand, we helped Seton hire and manage a qualified real estate broker to complete an exhaustive property search. Once properties that met Seton’s needs were identified, we worked with PellOverton and MG Engineering to evaluate zoning and building code requirements and develop a conceptual plan that lays out the school program within the space. Several properties cleared the initial architectural assessment feasibility thresholds, which encouraged us to complete a more in-depth evaluation of the site’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. As part of this work, PellOverton and MG Engineering also developed a conceptual design that we used to obtain preliminary cost estimates from general contractors.
Upon selecting an existing school building that met Seton’s needs, we supported Seton in the negotiation of the lease, focusing on important business terms like the term of the lease and rent obligation.
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Project Information
Size: 24,175 sq. ft.
Budget: $7.0M
Team: Loci Architecture
Seton engaged Matter Real Estate and Loci Architecture to determine the feasibility of converting an existing rectory, convent and church located respectively at 414, 416, and 420 East 145th Street, into housing for teachers-in-training and a gymnasium. Our study focused on evaluating three key aspects of project feasibility: (1) identifying red flags that prevent the project from moving forward, (2) determining if Seton’s programmatic needs can be accommodated in the buildings, and (3) estimating the cost of repurposing the buildings to house Seton’s program.
At the conclusion of our study, we were able to provide a deliverable to Seton concluding that no zoning and building code hurdles exist that prevent the project from moving forward, the rectory and convent can house between 36 to 48 teachers depending on the layout and if the properties are substantially renovated, the project is estimated to cost up to $7,000,000.
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Project Information
Size: 12,000 sq. ft.
Budget: TBD
Team: Newmark Knight Frank (broker), Barton Gilman LLP (real estate attorney), PellOverton Architects
Seton hired us in March 2020 to help them evaluate and negotiate an opportunity to lease approximately 12,000 sq. ft. of office space in the South Bronx. In our role, we developed a project plan for the negotiation of the space, clearly outlining key milestones and important dates, managed project team members (real estate attorney, architect, engineers, etc.) to ensure key milestones were met, and helped Seton define financial, programmatic, and timeline objectives.
Having completed that work, we worked with a real estate attorney and Seton leadership to draft an initial response to the landlord’s proposal.
