A quiet stretch of West 85th Street may be headed for a big change, after a New York private school put in a roughly $20 million offer to buy the Upper West Side campus of the bankrupt Manhattan Country School. The early bid zeroes in on the six-story schoolhouse and leaves families wondering what it could mean for the school’s offsite farm program in the Catskills.
According to Crain's New York Business, the proposal was filed with the bankruptcy trustee who is overseeing the estate. Crain's reports that the bidder is another New York private school, and that the offer is not yet a binding sale with a set court timeline. It is among the first public offers to surface since Manhattan Country School landed in bankruptcy.
School’s Collapse and the Campus
Manhattan Country School filed for bankruptcy in May 2025 after years of borrowing to fund an expansion and drawing down its endowment, according to Bloomberg Law. Bankruptcy filings reviewed by The Real Deal show the six-story building at 150 West 85th Street was appraised at about $39 million in 2021, and that the school operated a roughly 180-acre farm in Roxbury.
What the Offer Could Mean
If a school buyer ultimately wins out, the West 85th Street property could keep its life as a classroom hub. If a developer comes in with a stronger offer, the building could be converted to another use entirely. The bankruptcy trustee, Albert Togut, has hired a broker to market the property and told The Real Deal, “It’s a beautiful building [that] I hope can be bought by another school.”
Bankruptcy Process and Next Steps
Court records show a motion to sell the schoolhouse under Section 363 was received on May 19, 2026, on the case docket. Any deal will need court approval and must allow room for qualified competing bids, according to the case summary at Bankruptcy Observer. The trustee is expected to solicit and review offers, then seek a judge’s authorization before any sale can close.
Why Local Families Are Watching
Parents and alumni say Manhattan Country School built its reputation on mixing families across income levels and sending students to its farm program, and many are hoping the West 85th Street campus stays in educational use rather than becoming another redevelopment story. Observers point to rising operating costs and pandemic-era enrollment shifts that have put pressure on small private schools in recent years, according to Bloomberg Law.
From here, the case moves into the more technical part of the process: look for a bid deadline, a court sale hearing and any competing offers or a stalking-horse agreement to show up on the docket. We will keep an eye on court filings and reporting as the trustee evaluates bids and seeks final approval of a buyer.
