National Blue Ribbon charter school expands existing space with long-term ground lease for planned new construction school building

New York– Avison Young’s New York office arranged a long-term ground lease for Hellenic Classical Charter School (HCCS) at 1641 Richmond Avenue in Staten Island, a property owned by the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Community. An Avison Young team comprised of Marty Cottingham, Principal, Michael Gottlieb, Principal, and Patrick Steffens, Associate, represented HCCS in the transaction. 

HCCS plans to build a new school at this newly leased location that will total 36,000 square feet and house grades 3-8. The new facility will be equipped with classrooms, specialty rooms, auditorium, gym and a high-tech library. In addition, Avison Young also renewed the existing 23,000-square-foot leased space for grades Pre-K-2nd to coincide with the term of the new building ground lease. The original 23,000-square-foot lease was signed in 2019.

The Avison Young team negotiated for the school to expand its relationship with the Holy Trinity Community via this new long-term ground lease on a portion of the land adjacent to their existing building, located at the intersection of Richmond Avenue and Victory Boulevard.

“Our existing relationship with HCCS, in addition to our experience and proven track record with other charter school leases, served us well in this transaction,” said Cottingham.  “From early on, we determined what was best for our client - signing a long term-ground lease at 1641 Richmond Avenue allowed the school, as a nonprofit organization with tax-exempt status, to receive significant savings over the cost of the term. We’re pleased to have negotiated this deal on their behalf and look forward to seeing their brand-new Staten Island educational facility upon completion.”

HCCS also was able to acquire $44 million bond financing from Build NYC to help cover the cost of construction of its new building.

"The Build NYC bond closing is another great accomplishment in HCCS's storied 16-year history," said Charles Capetanakis, HCCS Board Chair.  "First and foremost, we were able to receive this financing based on HCCS's high academic achievement as evidenced by our Brooklyn school’s status as a National Blue Ribbon School. We are thankful for the help of our community and government partners in undertaking this project but and most of all, we are thankful for our students, families, teachers and staff for their steadfast dedication to HCCS's academic excellence."

"This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in our school's history," said Christina Tettonis, HCCS Superintendent. "We look forward to continuing to provide an exemplary education to our children in a state-of-the-art building in Staten Island. Thank you for the on-going dedication of our entire HCCS family in making this possible."

HCCS is a National Blue Ribbon K-8 charter school based in Park Slope Brooklyn and expanded into Staten Island with a sister school through its initial agreement with the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Community.

HCCS provides students in grades pre-kindergarten through 8th with a rigorous, classical education, rich in challenging classics content. Our education model uses a standards-based curriculum, coaching, and intensive academic support to promote intellectual curiosity and independent learning. Supported by an exemplary teaching staff, students are prepared to succeed at the best high schools in New York City upon graduation.

In addition to arranging leases for HCCS, Cottingham and Gottlieb have negotiated leases on behalf of other charter schools including a 110,000-square-foot space for the Success Academy in Manhattan and, with Steffens joining them as the Associate, a 24,500-square-foot lease on behalf of LEEP Dual Language Academy in Brooklyn.