Collegiate School announced today, in very Collegiate-sounding language:
We are delighted to share with you an historical milestone in the life of the Collegiate School. Last week the Board of Trustees approved the acquisition of property for the relocation and construction of a new building, located between West 61st and 62nd Streets bounded by West End Avenue and Riverside Boulevard, part of a larger development known as “Riverside South.” Contingent upon this acquisition, the Board approved the sale of our current facilities.
Filled though we are with anticipation about our school’s future, we recognize that some in our community will feel a sense of loss at the prospect of leaving the site that has been our home since 1892. We are not, however, leaving behind that which is most essentially “Collegiate.” Our school culture has endured for well over three centuries, and is deeper and more powerful than any one building or address: from our commitment to academic and personal excellence, to the spirit of collaboration, partnership and mutual respect, to the palpable intellectual curiosity and engagement manifested by the boys regardless of age. Our values and culture are shaped and carried by people−faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents and past parents. All of us are responsible for and committed to ensuring that those ineffable but fundamental qualities of the school will remain pervasive in our new home.
“Riverside South” is also known as “Trump Place”. This is a new neighborhood indeed. As Collegiate plans to modernize itself, it is clear that the Avenues Effect is again at work.