Ackman Bets $260M on Upper West Side to Build Brain-Research Campus

Pershing Square Foundation bought 125 West End Avenue for about $190 million and is under contract to acquire the adjacent 320 West 66th Street for roughly $70 million, with additional development rights that could push the project toward 700,000 square feet of life-science space on the Upper West Side. The plan is to create the Ackman Oxman Institute, a brain‑research campus developed with Mount Sinai, spanning genetics, nutrition, longevity, rehabilitation and neurosurgery. The board includes Nobel laureate Jim Rothman and Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman; operations could begin in the main building by year-end if approvals proceed. The deal may trigger neighborhood reviews given the scale, and the West End Labs leasing site remains active as Taconic and partners prepare for a possible full build-out.