Mayor de Blasio’s pre-kindergarten push has set off a land grab among private-school operators who are scrambling for suitable space to house new programs, according to a report.
The space chase could set new records for prices in so-called community-facilities, the set-aside public-use areas that developers never expect to cash in on, Crain’s New York Business reported.
Developers set aside spaces for public use in exchange for permission to build larger towers than zoning would normally allow.
Although the spaces — often the sites of senior citizens and medical clinics — usually lease for a fraction of typical ground-floor facilities, growing demand in anticipation of the city’s pre-K push has, in some cases, doubled their going rates.
For example, early last month, an aggressive bidder beat out a handful of rivals to land an 11,000-square-foot, ground-floor space at 750 Columbus Ave.
on the Upper West Side.
The $70-a-square-foot-price paid by Upper Valley Preschool, was estimated to be more than double the price paid by the previous tenant, Crain’s said.
A recent request for proposals from the city’s Department of Education netted submissions for 650 new and existing sites for pre-K and touched off a race to line up space.
De Blasio has made universal pre-kindergarten one of the cornerstones of his progressive agenda.
The city’s Health and Mental Hygiene Department has licensed nearly 1,800 private preschools.