Mystery Buyer To Keep E Vill Boys Club For Community Use: Report

EAST VILLAGE, NY — An anonymous buyer has scooped up the Boys' Club of New York's East Village building for $32 million — but there's an unexpected twist in the buyer's intentions, reports said.

The buyer plans to preserve the facility at East 10th Street and Avenue A for community use and possibly sell it to a non-profit at a loss, Crain's New York Business first reported.

"The goal is to keep this as a community facility," Paul Wolf, co-president of the firm Denham Wolf who was representing the mysterious, wealthy buyer, told Crain's. "The intent is to sell it to a nonprofit at a lower price than the purchase price."

Last summer, the Boys' Club announced it would sell its Harriman Clubhouse to relocate to a smaller space in the neighborhood in order to fund programming in Brownsville, East New York, and the South Bronx, Patch previously reported. The plans to sell the clubhouse, where the Boys' Club has been for nearly 120 years, sparked protests from local politicians and residents last year.

"Whoever this angel investor is, I want to thank them on behalf of our community," State Sen. Brad Hoylman said in a statement. "They are saving a century-old community facility from being converted into luxury condos or a high-priced hotel, which sadly has been the real estate narrative for the East Village."

"While I wish the Boys’ Club had never put the Harriman Clubhouse on the open market in the first place, I’m grateful to them for finding this angel investor that will allow young people and families in our community to continue to benefit from this splendid facility," Hoylman said.

Click here to read the full Crain's report.