A private school has made an approximately $20 million offer to purchase the Upper West Side campus of Manhattan Country School, which is in bankruptcy. The bid targets the six-story schoolhouse at 150 West 85th Street and raises questions about what happens to the school’s offsite farm program in the Catskills. The offer was filed with the bankruptcy trustee overseeing the estate and is not yet a binding sale with a set court timeline. Manhattan Country School filed for bankruptcy in May 2025 after years of borrowing and endowment drawdowns. The trustee has hired a broker to market the property and will solicit and review offers before seeking court authorization under Section 363, allowing room for competing bids.
"A quiet stretch of West 85th Street may be headed for a big change, after a New York private school put in a roughly $20 million offer to buy the Upper West Side campus of the bankrupt Manhattan Country School. The early bid zeroes in on the six-story schoolhouse and leaves families wondering what it could mean for the school's offsite farm program in the Catskills."
"According to Crain's New York Business, the proposal was filed with the bankruptcy trustee who is overseeing the estate. Crain's reports that the bidder is another New York private school, and that the offer is not yet a binding sale with a set court timeline. It is among the first public offers to surface since Manhattan Country School landed in bankruptcy."
"If a school buyer ultimately wins out, the West 85th Street property could keep its life as a classroom hub. If a developer comes in with a stronger offer, the building could be converted to another use entirely. The bankruptcy trustee, Albert Togut, has hired a broker to market the property and told The Real Deal, "It's a beautiful building [that] I hope can be bought by another school.""
"Court records show a motion to sell the schoolhouse under Section 363 was received on May 19, 2026, on the case docket. Any deal will need court approval and must allow room for qualified competing bids, according to the case summary at Bankruptcy Observer. The trustee is expected to solicit and review offers, then seek a judge's authorization before any sale can close."
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