Lehman College has opened its first-ever dormitory, a 58-suite residence hall tucked inside a restored 1932 bank building at Grand Concourse and Fordham Road, giving the historically commuter-based Bronx campus its first on-campus-style housing option for 180 students. The new residence, called The Lehman Grand, is the only dorm serving a CUNY campus anywhere in the Bronx.
According to the Bronx Times, which first reported the opening, Lehman College partnered with developer Maddd Equities to convert the historic building into student housing, signing a 35-year lease for the company to operate the hall. The residence hall makes Lehman College's campus CUNY's seventh residential campus, a notable shift for a school that has long served a largely commuter student population.
The suites come furnished and include private bathrooms, and residents have access to shared kitchens, study lounges, game rooms, on-site laundry, free Wi-Fi and 24-hour security, per the same Bronx Times report. Pricing ranges from $9,025 per academic year for a standard quad suite up to $16,720 per academic year for a double penthouse suite, with payment plans available. Students also get discounts at the Fine Fare supermarket located on the building's ground floor.
A Landmark Bank Building Reborn
The building housing the new dorm has a long history of its own. The Dollar Savings Bank Building at 2516–2530 Grand Concourse was constructed in 1932 and was designated a New York City landmark in 1994, according to the Bronx Times. Its Art Deco and classical design came from architect Adolf L. Muller of the firm Halsey, McCormack & Helmer, with construction unfolding in three main phases between 1932 and 1952, per Wikipedia's entry on the property.
The building sat largely vacant for more than a decade after Apple Bank closed its branch there in 2014, Wikipedia notes, though developer Ivan Diaz had purchased the 10-story office tower for $4 million and the low-rise banking room for $2 million back in 2013. Maddd Equities eventually restored the building after that long vacancy, and the company renovated the building's banking hall, which reopened in 2024 as a Fine Fare supermarket, according to a report from AIA New York. That trade group reported that Aufgang Architects spent four years working with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to restore the landmarked 10,000-square-foot Art Deco banking hall ahead of its commercial reuse. The building's historic pedigree has since earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, where it was officially listed on November 18, 2024, per Wikipedia.
Easing a Widespread Housing Crunch
The dorm's opening lands amid mounting evidence that housing costs are a major obstacle for CUNY students system-wide. A 2025 survey found that 38 percent of CUNY students experienced housing insecurity — including difficulty paying rent or heating bills — while 6 percent experienced homelessness in the preceding year, according to an analysis from PSC CUNY. A separate CUNY basic needs report from July found that 34 percent of students reported food insecurity in 2024, compounding the academic risks tied to housing instability.
Lehman College President Fernando Delgado said The Lehman Grand gives students an affordable, convenient and beautiful housing option to help them reach graduation goals, according to the Bronx Times. Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said the project represents an investment in higher education and the borough's future, the outlet reported.
Kiana Bonner, Lehman College's director of residence life, said the residence hall is intended to ease outside pressures on students and strengthen their connection to campus life, per the Bronx Times. Students expected to move into the building come from across the greater New York metropolitan area, according to Lehman College.
Getting to Campus, and the Lease Terms Ahead
The Lehman Grand sits near the B, D and 4 subway lines and multiple bus routes, and Lehman College operates a free shuttle between the residence hall and its Bedford Park campus. Students also have the option to bike the short distance between the two sites, as Norwood News reported, noting the Bedford Park campus sits within easy Citi Bike range of the Grand Concourse building.
The financial arrangement between CUNY and Maddd Equities includes a built-in grace period. CUNY will not make lease payments during the first three years of the agreement, but will begin annual rent payments in the fourth year at $1.785 million, per the Bronx Times report.
Maddd Equities is also pursuing a second, larger student housing project elsewhere in the Bronx. The developer, in a joint venture with Stagg Group, is planning a 12-story dorm tower on Webster Avenue in Fordham, a separate 600-student building targeted for 2029 occupancy near Fordham University's Rose Hill campus, according to Hoodline's earlier reporting.
