According to a report appearing in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, Hadassah—the Women’s Zionist Organization of America—has decided to sell its Manhattan building.

The sale was closed earlier this month, and approved by Hadassah’s board of directors on May 1, according to JTA. Hadassah House, as the philanthropic organization’s headquarters is more commonly known, is located at 50 West 58th Street. Observers say the sale is part of Hadassah’s attempts to restore its name and reach a full financial recovery, after the historic establishment lost money in Bernie Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme.

The House was reportedly sold for $71.5 million; a meeting will be held to approve the sale next month in Dallas. While officials associated with Hadassah claim the nonprofit was not looking to sell the property, the recent history of the organization suggests it is trying to get back on its feet after incurring serious financial injuries in 2009.

After losing millions with Madoff, Hadassah was forced to cut its staff.  In 2010, it consented to returning $45 million to the trustee returning money unethically gained during the Madoff scam, Irving Picard. And aside from the monetary losses, Hadassah’s reputation was also besmirched in the midst of the Madoff controversy, as Sheryl Weinstein, a former Hadassah chief financial officer, testified at around the time the Ponzi scheme was coming to light that she had slept with Madoff years earlier while handling Hadassah’s funds.

In January, the Zionist group suffered another reputational blow when news broke that Hadassah’s immediate past president, Nancy Falchuk, and current president, Marcie Natan, were being accused by a former chief operating officer of having used organizational funds to defray personal expenses. A subsequent investigation by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in April found the allegations to be unfounded, according to a statement cited by the Journal.

Hadassah is trying to clarify its mission and attract youth to volunteer for its various programs. But this has proven doubly difficult; besides for the recent financial and reputational damages, the organization is now dealing with an American generation that is losing interest in its “Jewish ethnic belonging, specifically Zionist attachment to Israel,” explains Steven M. Cohen, director of the Berman Jewish Policy Archive at New York University Wagner, according to the Journal.

“Hadassah over many decades has been suffering membership losses, which reflects larger trends in society and not necessarily any internal failings on the part of the leadership,” Cohen says.

But Natan, Hadassah’s current president, says the organization is not struggling to meet its debt obligations. A buyer expressed interest and made a proposal, and Hadassah felt the sale was a sensible move.
“This opportunity came our way,” Natan said, the Journal reported. “We said, ‘This meets our needs, the timing is right, and it allows us to move into appropriate space for us.’”

“Hadassah is thrilled with the opportunity presented by this potential sale, which coincides with our 100th anniversary in 2012,” Natan also said in a statement. “These exciting steps forward will allow us to find new, modern and upgraded space that will better serve our more than 330,000 members as we venture into our second century.”

Hadassah can stay on the property for three years before it is likely razed and joined to adjacent buildings. The buyer, BOB 57 LLC, owns two buildings adjacent to Hadassah House, according to the Journal.