There has been a substantial amount of office to residential conversion activity in New York City, and this conversion activity will transform the landscape of New York as such projects continue to come on line and accelerate. This client alert will highlight several notable conversion projects that have advanced or been announced, the effects of the conversions on commercial real estate, and some of the regulatory framework affecting such conversions.
Recent Conversion Activity
- 6 East 43rd Street: The Vanbarton Group is in contract to acquire the building and intends to create approximately 400–500 apartments.
- 750 Third Avenue: SL Green Realty filed plans with the Department of Buildings (DOB) to convert the entire building into 680 apartments.
- 5 Times Square: Empire State Development has approved the conversion of this Times Square tower into approximately 1,250 apartments.
- 1011 First Avenue: The Vanbarton Group filed plans with the DOB to convert the former headquarters of the Archdiocese of New York into 420 apartments.
- 140 West 57th Street: Feil Organization plans to convert their office building to 47 residential units
- 300 East 42nd Street: CSC Real Estate has bought the office portion of the building and plans to convert most of it to 135 rental apartments
- 219-235 East 42nd Street: Metro Loft Development LLC and David Werner Real Estate Investments plans to convert Pfizer’s former headquarters to 1,600 rental apartments
- 675 Third Avenue: David Werner Real Estate Investments and Metro Loft Management reportedly may convert this building to 430 rental units
- 767 Third Avenue: Metro Loft Management and Quantum Pacific plan to convert the 330,000 square-foot building, originally built in 1981, to residential apartments
- 222 Broadway: TPG Real Estate and GFP Real Estate will convert the former office building to 798 rental apartments
- 1730 Broadway: Yellowstone Real Estate Investments plans to convert the office building to 422 residential units
Conversions that have already been completed include:
- 55 Broad Street: The former headquarters of Goldman Sachs was converted to 571 units ranging from studios to three bedroom units
- 25 Water Street: Has been rebranded as SoMa and now has 1,320 apartments
Impact On Office Space And Residential Units
While these conversions bring much-needed new housing to Manhattan, they remove substantial square footage from the city’s office space inventory. For example, the conversion of 25 Water Street, the country’s largest office-to-residential conversion to date, removed 1.1 million square feet of office space from the market.
Across all projects, current estimates indicate that over 10 million square feet of office space in Manhattan is now in the conversion pipeline.
Once complete, the current roster of conversions is projected to deliver thousands of new residential units. Most projects are concentrated in Midtown East, Lower Manhattan, and the Times Square corridor, where eligible building stock and zoning conditions align.
Policy And Incentive Landscape
Most current conversion projects are proceeding either through as-of-right zoning allowances or discretionary approvals on a property-specific basis.
The Adams administration’s “City of Yes” zoning initiative includes measures that could streamline future conversion approvals in targeted districts. Among its provisions is an expansion of allowable conversions to include more commercial zones and older office buildings, particularly those constructed before 1991.
Separately, the Section 467-m tax incentive, enacted by New York State in 2023 and implemented by New York City in 2025, provides a long-term property tax exemption of up to 35 years for qualifying conversions that include affordable housing requirements.
The foregoing is not intended to be comprehensive nor constitute legal advice. If you would like to discuss your specific circumstances or would like more information, feel free to contact us at (212) 625-8505.