Hebrew Union College Announces Deal with NYU in New York City Campus Relocation
New location will provide modern home for leading Jewish educational institution; NYU to acquire W. 4th St. site
NEW YORK, NY, January 30, 2025 – Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC)—the academic center and leadership institute of Reform Judaism—and New York University (NYU) today jointly announced the sale of Hebrew Union College’s Greenwich Village building to neighboring NYU. The move comes as HUC finalizes the purchase of a new building in Manhattan as part of its efforts to plan for the future by significantly improving its facilities.
The decision to move to a new facility was guided by Hebrew Union College’s Board of Governors with the goal of aligning HUC’s real estate footprint across all its campuses with its program and needs. Grounding their work in the core principles of flexibility, mission delivery, and financial sustainability, the Board of Governors and the administration are charting a strategic real estate course for HUC’s future.
“At Hebrew Union College, our academic and institutional needs have changed from what they were almost fifty years ago when we decided to build at our current location,” said Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., president of Hebrew Union College. “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. 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.”
“We are very glad that Hebrew Union College reached out to us, and very pleased to partner with them to create a win-win proposition,” said NYU President Linda G. Mills. “Hebrew Union College will carry on its important mission in an excellent, new facility, 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.”
Collaboration between the two institutions including course reciprocity and library access will continue. Hebrew Union College’s Manhattan campus will move from the Village, where it has been located since 1979, to a landmark building in Manhattan that is more appropriate for HUC’s New York program and community. With this agreement, HUC will remain in the Greenwich Village building until sometime in 2027, when the renovation of the new campus location is complete.
The proceeds from the sale of the existing building in Greenwich Village will fund the purchase and renovation of HUC’s new home and strengthen HUC’s endowment. NYU is planning to use the Greenwich Village site for classrooms, as well as looking at it as a potential center for executive education programming.
Since Hebrew Union College merged in 1950 with the Jewish Institute of Religion (founded in New York in 1922), HUC’s New York City campus has been central to the institution’s educational efforts, service work, and research projects. It provides students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the community with a sacred, welcoming, and lively environment for intellectual risk-taking and integrated clergy formation.
Hebrew Union College will share updates to keep the community abreast of the latest developments, including details about its new location when the transaction has closed.
Hebrew Union College was founded in 1875 to provide rabbinical training for those who would offer progressive, enlightened, and modern spiritual leadership for the new American pulpit. Today, HUC is an international center of applied Jewish wisdom with a global reach and the academic, spiritual, and professional leadership development center of Reform Judaism. Learn more at HUC.edu.
Founded in 1831, New York University is one of the world’s foremost research universities (with more than $1 billion per year in research expenditures) and is a member of the selective Association of American Universities. NYU has degree-granting university campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai; has 12 other global academic sites, including London, Paris, Florence, Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, and Accra; and both sends more students to study abroad and educates more international students than any other U.S. college or university. Through its numerous schools and colleges, NYU is a leader in conducting research and providing education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, engineering, education, nursing, the cinematic and performing arts, music and studio arts, public administration, social work, public health, and professional studies, among other areas.