Ipark Buys Rising Ground-Leake & Watts 28 acre riverfront property for $52.6 Million
By Dan Murphy
The continued interest in Yonkers by developers and corporate America continues, with the announcement that iPark has purchased the 32-acre property in the Ludlow neighborhood of southwest Yonkers, formerly occupied by Leake & Watts, now Rising Ground.
Published reports state that the sale price was $52.6 million The property will be used as a film studio and a performing arts school for the Yonkers Public Schools.
iPark and its parent company, National Resources, have developed a 14.4 acre property in the downtown by the Yonkers train station to be used by Great Point Studios and Lionsgate Entertainment as the Hudson Film & Television Center.
The Hudson riverfront property was one of the largest parcels that was closest to New York City, for sale. For more than 100 years, the property served as a social service agency center for children under foster care and young adults with advanced developmental disabilities.
Many of the 25 buildings were used as cottages for many of the youth who lived there for a short period of time. Leake & Watts changed its name to Rising Ground in 2018. Rising Ground sold the property to strengthen its financial outlook, and it continues to serve the pubic at 55 sites in Westchester and New York City, serving 25,000 individuals with 1,600 employees.
The tree lines property includes ballfields and sits on a rise, giving the property unparalleled views of the Hudson River, with the metro-north railroad running next door. The property was listed in Feb. 2021 for $60 million.
In August of this year, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and the Yonkers Board of Education today announced the Board’s approval to sign a 20-year lease with iPark Riverdale, LLC., to rent the Frank T. Biondi and the Ames School Buildings at the former Rising Ground property on Hawthorne Street. In partnership with Great Point Studios, owner and operator of the new Lionsgate Studio Yonkers, the 100,000 square foot property will be the future home to Yonkers Public Schools’ new media and production magnet school.
“Yonkers is thrilled to partner with Great Point Studios in our effort to invest in and provide more specialized educational opportunities for students and offer them the pathway to a career,” said Mayor Mike Spano. “This school, along with the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School in construction now, means Yonkers soon will be home to two more vibrant and diverse learning institutions that will see our young people flourish and prepare them for the next phases of their educational journey.”
