Christian School Bids $20M to Take Over Bankrupt Manhattan Country School

A building that once housed the socially and ideologically progressive Manhattan Country School is likely to soon be the newest expansion of the Geneva School of Manhattan, a Christian private school who bid $20 million for the property.

The financially struggling Manhattan Country School filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 16, 2025, citing major financial losses caused by the COVID pandemic, changes in education enrollment, and costs associated from an expansion plan when it purchased a new building with plans to expand its campus. Following a rejected emergency financing plan in 2024, the school then converted its case to Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy June 18 2025, eliminating most of its unsecured debt and closing the school’s doors permanently.

The closing of the Manhattan Country Day School is the latest private school to sell off its buildings amid a declining school age population in the city.

Pressure on private schools in Manhattan appears to be accelerating as the schools face rising costs and declining enrollment.The Archdiocese of New York has been accelerating the sell off of Catholic elementary schools that have shut down due to declining enrollment in recent years. More recently, the archdiocese said it was hoping a luxury developer would materialize to buy the historic St. Brigid’s School in the East Village that closed in 2017 and is now on the block.

Meanwhile, the private Calhoun School is still in business but it sold one of its Upper West Side buildings to a developer who then flipped it and sold it to another developer, who ultimately turned it into a problem plagued women’s shelter that is leased to the city. And more recently, the private Corlear’s school in Chelsea was sold to a developer who plans to erect luxury condos on the site.

The Manhattan Country School tried valiantly to refinance two years ago, but a judge rejected a investor in 2024 after a bank threatend foreclosure, forcing the school to file for bankruptcy. At the time of its closing in 2024, the school had accumulated over $27 million in liabilities with only $82,351 in their bank accounts, according to filings obtained by The Spirit. The year prior to filing for bankruptcy, the school had made a gross business revenue of $6.2 million. At the time, the school listed the value of their West 85th Street building at $38 million.

Now, the Geneva School of Manhattan has made a bid to by Manhattan Country’s former campus, offering $20 million in the form of a stalking horse bid May 19, 2026, which was first reported by Crain’s New York Business. The bid follows an order to approve the sale of the property from Judge David Jones, according to filings obtained by The Spirit. This form of bid establishes a high baseline for other interested parties, which have until June 15 to make a higher offer and participate in an auction. If no other qualified bids are received, Geneva School, which is currently located at 138 W 90th, will then secure Manhattan Country’s previous campus at 150 West 85th Street.

The Manhattan Country, which was founded in 1966, with a working upstate farm to go with its UWS school which sought to incorporate a progressive and multicultural philosophy into their student’s curriculum, rooted in the activism and principles of the Civil Rights movement. The school utilized its small working farm in upstate Roxbury NY to emphasize the importance of nature and community for their students.

The Geneva School similarly strives to create a community for its students, but centers its learning and curriculum around ‘classical learning’ and Christian principles, encouraging students to view the world through the ‘lens of biblical truth.’ And while many schools around the country have faced enrollment declines, the Geneva School has only continued to grow since its founding in 1996. Since the pandemic, enrollment has increased by 43.10 percent with 405 students currently enrolled and a projected enrollment of 430 students for 2025-2026, according to the school’s 2024-2025 annual report. The school, which charges from $22,000 to $36,000 in tuition and provides over $2 million in financial aid, correspondingly updated its facilities through an 8000-square-foot renovation, according to their report.

In regards to enrollment increases, the school stated in their report that “Classical Christian schools have seen recent increases around the country for many reasons, one of which being a trend toward suburban living post-pandemic.”

As it stands, with no other bids made for Manhattan Country’s former campus, the Geneva School is set to continue its expansion through this significant purchase.