Empire Education Keeps 40K-SF Campus at 25 Broadway

Empire Education Corporation (EEC), which owns and operates the private, for-profit college Mildred Elley, is keeping its campus in Manhattan’s Financial District, Commercial Observer has learned.

EEC signed a 10-year renewal for its approximately 40,000-square-foot Mildred Elley New York City campus at the Wolfson Group’s 22-story 25 Broadway, also known as the Cunard Building, according to tenant broker Helmsley Spear. Asking rent was $50 per square foot.

Mildred Elley, which offers programs in health care, business and technology, opened its campus in the building overlooking Bowling Green Park in 2010, according to the school’s website.

“The lease renewal is further evidence of the confidence tenants are showing in the vibrant downtown and Financial District markets,” Helmsley Spear’s Randy Sherman, who brokered the deal for the tenant, said in a statement.

“This will ensure the future growth of EEC, and the Mildred-Elley campus, in its mission to provide career training across many vital professional disciplines,” Sherman added.

No brokers represented the landlord. Spokespeople for Mildred Elley and Wolfson did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while a spokesperson for building manager ACTA Realty could not be reached for comment.

25 Broadway boasted a 92 percent occupancy rate throughout 2022 and 2024, but its $250 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan hit special servicing in April 2024, part of a growing trend of office buildings facing distress despite strong fundamentals.

25 Broadway was built in 1921 for the Cunard Steamship Company, now known as the Cunard Line. Tenants in the building include nonprofit Teach for America, The City College of New York, event venue Cipriani and internet service provider Cogent Communications.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.