This is a developing story.
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the Reform movement’s rabbinical seminary, will sell its downtown Manhattan building to New York University, it was announced on Thursday.
NYU — which has a history of expansion that dates to its beginnings in 1831 — has purchased the building at 1 West 4th Street for $75.5 million, according to a Hebrew Union College spokesperson. HUC plans to relocate to an as yet undisclosed location in Manhattan, though the New York Jewish Week expects to have additional details on the move next week.
In a statement, Hebrew Union College president Andrew Rehfeld, cited shifting “academic and institutional needs” as the reason for the move.
“We are thrilled to have come to this agreement with NYU, our neighbor and collaborator, that enables both institutions to better serve our educational missions,” Rehfeld said. “As we plan our path forward, we are positioning the institution to better serve our students, faculty, staff, and community. Our goal is for our physical spaces to be inviting and inspiring, reflecting the majesty and sacred purpose of our work.”
The Jewish institution will remain in its Greenwich Village building until “sometime” in 2027, when it will move into a renovated “landmark building” elsewhere. Despite the eventual relocation, collaboration between HUC and NYU — such as course reciprocity and library privileges — is expected to continue.
A multi-campus institution —with locations in New York, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Jerusalem — Hebrew Union College was founded in Cincinnati by 1875 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise; at the time, it was “the first permanent Jewish institution of higher learning in America,” according to HUC’s web site.
In 1950, HUC’s New York City campus opened following a merger with the Jewish Institute of Religion, which was founded by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise as “a pluralistic institution of higher Jewish learning” in New York in 1922. HUC-JIR has been at its West 4th St. location, adjacent to NYU, since 1979.
In October 2023, HUC-JIR announced the discontinuation of four programs: the doctoral and master’s degree programs in Jewish studies that are based in Cincinnati, as well as a doctoral program in interfaith ministry in New York and a master’s program in educational leadership in Los Angeles. Rehfeld cited “financial constraints” and dwindling enrollment among the reasons for the programs’ cessation, JTA reported at the time.
The proceeds from the sale of the Greenwich Village building “will fund the purchase and renovation of HUC’s new home and strengthen HUC’s endowment,” according to a press release. NYU intends to use the building for classrooms, though they are also considering the space for a “potential center for executive education programming.”
“Hebrew Union College will carry on its important mission in an excellent, new facility,” NYU President Linda Mills said, “and the West 4th Street location will continue to be part of New York’s higher learning landscape, as it has for the last 46 years.”
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