NSNA Building Fund Report
NSNA Headquarters: Past, Present and Future
The Past
When NSNA was first organized in 1952, NSNA's official headquarters were located at Two Park Avenue in New York City with the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, and the American Journal of Nursing Company. In 1959, all four organizations relocated uptown to Ten Columbus Circle.
In 1974, the American Nurses Association moved its headquarters operation to Kansas City, Missouri. NSNA remained at 10 Columbus Circle until 1984, sub-leasing office space from the National League for Nursing. In 1983, the 10 Columbus Circle complex (owned by the Port Authority of NY and NJ) was slated to be sold and the building owners declined to renew leases. (Today, 10 Columbus Circle is the site of the Time Warner Center.) The National League for Nursing secured space on Hudson Street in lower Manhattan and the American Journal of Nursing Company relocated to 555 West 57th Street in Manhattan.
The NSNA Board of Directors, faced with the daunting task of relocating NSNA, formed a Long-range Planning Committee responsible for exploring potential options for NSNA’s Headquarters relocation. The committee investigated relocating to Indianapolis, Indiana; Washington, DC; as well as remaining in New York City. A proposal submitted by the American Journal of Nursing Company to sublease space at 555 West 57th Street was accepted and NSNA moved three blocks east of Columbus Circle to its new home in May 1984. One of the recommendations of the Long-range Planning Committee was to “investigate” a Foundation (of the NSNA) Building Fund for a future site.” No action was taken on this recommendation at that time.
Prior to the conclusion of the five-year sub-lease with the American Journal of Nursing Company, the AJN Company approached NSNA and suggested that NSNA lease directly with the 555 West 57th Street management. This was the first time that NSNA held its own lease. NSNA also relocated to larger offices on the same floor when the new lease was signed. In 2001 real-estate prices in Manhattan reached unprecedented high levels. As the lease renewal time was coming due, NSNA was informed that the square-foot rental price would triple.
The Board of Directors decided to investigate relocation of the headquarters in New York City. A relocation committee was formed and several properties were explored. Because of the high real-estate rates in Manhattan, rentals in outer boroughs were investigated as well as several Manhattan locations. The relocation committee recommended to the NSNA Board that the NSNA Headquarters be moved to Brooklyn, New York where the rental fee matched the fee on the then expiring 57th Street lease. The Brooklyn site, located in an area of Brooklyn called DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), offered many advantages in addition to affordable rent, including a 12 year lease with very reasonable increases over the term of the lease. The NSNA Board approved the relocation committee recommendation and in May 2002, NSNA headquarters were relocated to 45 Main Street in Brooklyn, NY.
The Present
NSNA currently leases 6,271 square feet of office space at 45 Main Street. When NSNA first moved to DUMBO in 2002, 4,971 square feet of space was leased. In 2004, NSNA added 1,300 square feet to its lease for the Foundation of the NSNA offices. FNSNA pays rent to NSNA for the space it occupies. When NSNA moved to DUMBO, the neighborhood consisted primarily of small businesses, artists, and a few residential buildings. Over the past five years, the area has grown rapidly and many rental and condominium residences have been built and former factory buildings have been converted to one to two million dollar residences. While it is difficult to predict what DUMBO business rentals will cost in 2014, the year that NSNA’s lease expires, the 2003-04 NSNA Board of Directors decided to establish a building fund with a portion of its end-of-the year surplus funds. In 2004, the NSNA Board of Directors established a building fund for the NSNA with a contribution of $225,000. The following table represents amounts contributed to the building fund from 2004-2007:
Year
Building Fund Contribution
2004
$225,000
2005
$265,396
2006
$221,959
2007
$114,215
Total
$826,570
In 2006, the NSNA Board of Directors explored the feasibility of giving the Foundation of the NSNA a restricted grant to establish a building fund. The advantages considered in making the grant to FNSNA included:
The Future
Two years prior to the lease expiration (2014), NSNA will begin to explore lease renewal options. Depending on the real-estate climate in New York in general and in DUMBO specifically, the NSNA Board of Directors may decide to renew the current lease, at which point the fund will remain in place for future use as determined by the NSNA Board of Directors. If the lease-renewal option is not feasible, the NSNA Board (which also serves as the membership of the FNSNA) may direct the FNSNA Trustees to consider conducting a Capital Campaign to finance the purchase of a building or business condominium for NSNA/FNSNA. A joint committee of members of the NSNA Board of Directors and FNSNA Trustees will be charged with exploring options for relocation and presenting the recommendation to the NSNA Board and FNSNA Trustees. Once a decision is made, a report will be included in Imprint magazine and provided to the House of Delegates.
The building fund allows NSNA to keep its options open (rental or purchase) and is an example of excellent fiduciary responsibility and financial planning on the part of the Board of Directors.
NSNA Headquarters: Past, Present and Future
The Past
When NSNA was first organized in 1952, NSNA's official headquarters were located at Two Park Avenue in New York City with the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, and the American Journal of Nursing Company. In 1959, all four organizations relocated uptown to Ten Columbus Circle.
In 1974, the American Nurses Association moved its headquarters operation to Kansas City, Missouri. NSNA remained at 10 Columbus Circle until 1984, sub-leasing office space from the National League for Nursing. In 1983, the 10 Columbus Circle complex (owned by the Port Authority of NY and NJ) was slated to be sold and the building owners declined to renew leases. (Today, 10 Columbus Circle is the site of the Time Warner Center.) The National League for Nursing secured space on Hudson Street in lower Manhattan and the American Journal of Nursing Company relocated to 555 West 57th Street in Manhattan.
The NSNA Board of Directors, faced with the daunting task of relocating NSNA, formed a Long-range Planning Committee responsible for exploring potential options for NSNA’s Headquarters relocation. The committee investigated relocating to Indianapolis, Indiana; Washington, DC; as well as remaining in New York City. A proposal submitted by the American Journal of Nursing Company to sublease space at 555 West 57th Street was accepted and NSNA moved three blocks east of Columbus Circle to its new home in May 1984. One of the recommendations of the Long-range Planning Committee was to “investigate” a Foundation (of the NSNA) Building Fund for a future site.” No action was taken on this recommendation at that time.
Prior to the conclusion of the five-year sub-lease with the American Journal of Nursing Company, the AJN Company approached NSNA and suggested that NSNA lease directly with the 555 West 57th Street management. This was the first time that NSNA held its own lease. NSNA also relocated to larger offices on the same floor when the new lease was signed. In 2001 real-estate prices in Manhattan reached unprecedented high levels. As the lease renewal time was coming due, NSNA was informed that the square-foot rental price would triple.
The Board of Directors decided to investigate relocation of the headquarters in New York City. A relocation committee was formed and several properties were explored. Because of the high real-estate rates in Manhattan, rentals in outer boroughs were investigated as well as several Manhattan locations. The relocation committee recommended to the NSNA Board that the NSNA Headquarters be moved to Brooklyn, New York where the rental fee matched the fee on the then expiring 57th Street lease. The Brooklyn site, located in an area of Brooklyn called DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), offered many advantages in addition to affordable rent, including a 12 year lease with very reasonable increases over the term of the lease. The NSNA Board approved the relocation committee recommendation and in May 2002, NSNA headquarters were relocated to 45 Main Street in Brooklyn, NY.
The Present
NSNA currently leases 6,271 square feet of office space at 45 Main Street. When NSNA first moved to DUMBO in 2002, 4,971 square feet of space was leased. In 2004, NSNA added 1,300 square feet to its lease for the Foundation of the NSNA offices. FNSNA pays rent to NSNA for the space it occupies. When NSNA moved to DUMBO, the neighborhood consisted primarily of small businesses, artists, and a few residential buildings. Over the past five years, the area has grown rapidly and many rental and condominium residences have been built and former factory buildings have been converted to one to two million dollar residences. While it is difficult to predict what DUMBO business rentals will cost in 2014, the year that NSNA’s lease expires, the 2003-04 NSNA Board of Directors decided to establish a building fund with a portion of its end-of-the year surplus funds. In 2004, the NSNA Board of Directors established a building fund for the NSNA with a contribution of $225,000. The following table represents amounts contributed to the building fund from 2004-2007:
Year
Building Fund Contribution
2004
$225,000
2005
$265,396
2006
$221,959
2007
$114,215
Total
$826,570
In 2006, the NSNA Board of Directors explored the feasibility of giving the Foundation of the NSNA a restricted grant to establish a building fund. The advantages considered in making the grant to FNSNA included:
- The restricted building fund contributions would be the basis of a future Capital Campaign for the building fund.
- Contributions to the Capital Campaign building fund would be tax-deductible. (Note that contributions to NSNA are not tax-deductible.)
The Future
Two years prior to the lease expiration (2014), NSNA will begin to explore lease renewal options. Depending on the real-estate climate in New York in general and in DUMBO specifically, the NSNA Board of Directors may decide to renew the current lease, at which point the fund will remain in place for future use as determined by the NSNA Board of Directors. If the lease-renewal option is not feasible, the NSNA Board (which also serves as the membership of the FNSNA) may direct the FNSNA Trustees to consider conducting a Capital Campaign to finance the purchase of a building or business condominium for NSNA/FNSNA. A joint committee of members of the NSNA Board of Directors and FNSNA Trustees will be charged with exploring options for relocation and presenting the recommendation to the NSNA Board and FNSNA Trustees. Once a decision is made, a report will be included in Imprint magazine and provided to the House of Delegates.
The building fund allows NSNA to keep its options open (rental or purchase) and is an example of excellent fiduciary responsibility and financial planning on the part of the Board of Directors.