Syracuse University officials signed a 10-year lease for the second floor of a 17-story building in Manhattan with the intent of creating a new academic center.

The building is located at 136 Madison Ave. on the corner of East 31st Street.

While few details are available about how the university will utilize the new space, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs Kevin Quinn said the university expects to release more details as plans progress.

“SU has leased the space and it will be used for academic purposes. No more specifics are available at this time, but we expect to provide more information about the center later this year as plans are finalized,” Quinn said in an email.

The university will use the newly acquired space in some capacity during the fall 2013 semester, but Quinn said the school is still working to finalize plans for the project.

The new space is located in a 150,000-square foot, 17-story building. The second floor, which SU will occupy, is 20,000 square feet, according to a Sept. 24 news release from Colliers International, the leasing firm that represents the building’s owners.

The building also features a concierge desk that operates 24 hours a day. Other building tenants that have been announced include a public relations firm and a test preparation company, according to the release.

With the addition of the new academic center, SU is expanding its presence in the New York City area. The university already operates another building in Manhattan, the Lubin House, to host events for current and prospective students, as well as SU alumni in the New York City area. It also serves as the school’s New York City admissions office and contains a public art gallery, according to SU’s website.

With such a large number of current and former students located around New York City, Ruth Kaplan, vice president of external affairs at SU, said the university’s presence in Manhattan is a good way to extend the school’s reach and influence, as well as a way to present students with new opportunities.

“With the wealth of learning opportunities for students available in a city of this size, our presence in New York City is a direct extension of the chancellor’s vision of Scholarship in Action,” Kaplan said.

There are currently more than 46,000 SU alumni in the New York City metro area, Kaplan said, and the university has had a presence in the region for quite some time. The school is looking to expand its presence in Manhattan to increase its influence on the large number of students and alumni in the area, while continuing to promote the concept of Scholarship in Action, she said.

Current Lubin House staff will know more about the newly leased space and will work with the Lubin House in the future as plans for the space develop, Kaplan said.

Published on February 17, 2013 at 10:41 pm

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27