Paulson Center at 181 Mercer Street Community Facility Tenant Application

NYU is seeking an area nonprofit organization to lease the 750 square foot ground floor space at the Paulson Center at 181 Mercer Street for a community facility rent. The space could be used for community services or office space. If you or someone you know may be interested in tenancy, please submit this online application form. NYU will review tenant applications on a rolling basis for up to one (1) year through April 18, 2024, unless a tenant is identified before then. Questions can be sent to community.engagement@nyu.edu.

Key Space Facts

Office Address: 38 West Houston Street
Access: Direct pedestrian access from Greene Street Walk (between Houston and Bleecker Streets)
Capacity: 54 seated, 73 standing
Facilities: Bathroom (single unit), AV equipment to be built to needs
Rent: Below market rate based on negotiation
NYU will fit out the space as the tenant may reasonably require

Applications which include the following will be given priority consideration:

Services of local community benefit potential (or existing)
Collaborations with NYU students and faculty in education, health and mental wellness, or other social services
Opportunities to expand services via collaboration with university stakeholders and/or internal/external community members

Interested parties should complete the following application with the information below:

Contact Information
Organizational Background (history, populations served, Board of Directors roster, organizational chart)
Statement of Intent (up to one (1) page)
Tax Information (501(c)(3) affidavit and 990)

History

In 2012, the New York City Council approved New York University’s (NYU) Core Plan granting NYU permission to develop new facilities on the two superblocks bounded by West 3rd Street and Houston Street to the north and south, and by Mercer Street and LaGuardia Place to the east and west. With the guidance of former Council Member Margaret Chin and the City, NYU agreed that in addition to the approved plan, the University would fulfill a series of commitments to the community. These commitments to the community are memorialized in an agreement between NYU and the City, known as the Restrictive Declaration. One of the commitments requires the Paulson Center at 181 Mercer Street to include a space for a community facility tenant.

Archived Marketing Plan

As part of the City approvals, NYU agreed to parameters for marketing and leasing the space. In accordance with those guidelines, NYU was required to publish a draft marketing plan and make it available for public comment for at least 30 days. A draft marketing plan for the space was published on October 17, 2022 and made available for comment through November 17, 2022. In response to feedback from the Community Board 2 and in an effort to facilitate engagement, NYU extended the comment period to January 3, 2023. The marketing plan was posted on NYU’s Community Engagement website under their Neighbors and Nonprofits web page as well as the Paulson Center academic space projects website. In addition, we included the link to the marketing plan in the Paulson Center construction updates that are sent out to the local community (approximately 750+ subscribers).

NYU Community Engagement also shared the marketing plan with the following:

Community Board 2, Manhattan
Community Board 3, Manhattan
NYC Department of City Planning
Local Nonprofit Organizations - Community Fund Recipients and other local organizations
Local Elected Officials
NYU Real Estate office to assist in listing the space with brokers
Local/city-wide news/media