New York billionaire Bill Ackman, known for his contrarian Wall Street bets, has just embarked on a very different sort of venture: Building a major research center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side dedicated to understanding the brain. The project, which was inspired by a recent family ordeal, will be housed in a 400,000-square-foot building at 125 West End Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that Ackman’s Pershing Square Foundation purchased this week for $190 million.
The foundation also signed a contract to buy an adjoining building at 320 West 66th Street for $70 million that, along with his purchase of additional development rights, means the total facility could span nearly 700,000 square feet upon completion.
