The exclusive all-girls prep school on the Upper East Side that inspired the book series and TV show Gossip Girl is planning to expand into East Harlem, records show.
Nightingale-Bamford, where tuition for its 716 students from kindergarten through 12th grade is $64,470 a year, has plans to construct a state-of-the-art athletic facility on East 108th Street between Third and Lexington avenues, about 10 blocks north of its longtime campus at 20 E. 92nd St.
Paul Burke, head of school at Nightingale, which was founded in 1920, signed the deed to acquire the 11 parcels of land that the facility will be built on for a total $17.2 million, according to three separate transactions that hit city records Tuesday.
Ten of the 11 lots — 157, 159, 161, 163, 165, 167, 169, 171, 173, and 175-179 E. 108th Street — are vacant, records show, while 181 E. 108th St. is occupied by a 4-story building with art galleries and studios taking up all four floors. Artist Julio Valdez, whose studio, JVS Project Space, occupies three of the floors, said he has plans to move elsewhere.
The private school, which has a $100.1 million endowment, acquired the properties from East Harlem-based landlord Ross & Ross. Derek Cohn, whose position at the real estate firm is unclear, signed the deed on behalf of the seller, records show. Attempts to reach Cohn were unsuccessful by press time.
The proposed facility will feature a high-performance indoor turf field to accommodate a number of sports such as lacrosse, soccer and softball, as well as a play yard for tennis, pickleball and golf, competition and practice gyms, and studio space for other types of fitness including Pilates, cardio and weight training.
“We are building an urban athletics center — that emphasizes girls’ team sports — like you’ll find nowhere else in the world,” Burke said in an announcement shared with the school community.
Construction is slated to start this year.
Nightingale-Bamford, between Fifth and Madison avenues, is what inspired the notorious fictional private school in the Gossip Girl series — Constance Billard School for Girls — and is where the book’s author, Cecily von Ziegesar, attended.
