In Brooklyn, a 19th-Century College Is Turned Into Luxury Rentals

Residents will soon bring new life to the halls of a 19th century Catholic college in Brooklyn that stood empty and in ruins for over a decade.

The building, now known as The Hartby, at 788 Willoughby Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, started leasing units this week. With 54 unique floor plans, many of the apartment units nod to the building’s past.

The Hartby is a 205-unit rental building with 54 unique floor plans.

In 1869, the cornerstone was laid for what would become the College of St. John the Baptist, and later St. John’s University. The architect was Patrick C. Keely, who had designed hundreds of churches in the United States and Europe.

The plans called for the first floor to be used as a study hall, with separate desks for each student; the second floor was to house dormitories and reception rooms; and the upper floor would have a large furnished lecture hall and more reception rooms, according to The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on July 26, 1869.

The college’s name changed a couple times before becoming St. John’s University, New York, in 1954. Then classes started at its current campus in Queens in 1955. The original building deteriorated over the years.