The new owners of 609 Fifth Avenue are eyeing a residential conversion after WeWork didn’t work out at the Midtown office property.
RJ Capital Holdings filed plans for 76 units at the former SL Green property, Crain’s reported. The developer is partnering with Top Rock Holdings, which purchased the office portion of the property last year for $100 million.
Plans filed with the Department of Buildings call for the 14-story commercial building to be converted into a 29-story mixed-use property, which would tack on 93,000 square feet. The building, which would be 226,000 square feet with the conversion, would also see its height doubled to 400 feet.
There will be apartments on the first and third floor, then from the fifth floor to the 28th floor, according to the filings. The fourth and fifth floors will have offices, while the top floor will be for storage. Plans for the building’s second floor remain unclear.
When Uri Mermelstein’s firm purchased the office portion of the property last year, sources told The Real Deal that the plan was to develop residential condos. It’s unclear, however, if that’s still the idea.
RJ and Top Rock both didn’t respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
WeWork vacated its lease at 609 Fifth Avenue in 2021, leaving the building’s office space vacant ever since. SL Green acquired the building two decades ago from Wharton Properties before splitting it out between office and retail; Reuben Brothers picked up the Puma-anchored 29,000-square-foot retail portion last year for $168 million.
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Office-to-residential conversions have been hailed as a kay part of the plan to solve the housing crunch in New York. Combined with demand for housing and distress in the office sector, it appears to be an ideal time to embark on such conversions, and some developers are on the prowl.
Challenges remain, however, including floorplates, financing and zoning difficulties that only make a small share of New York office buildings fit for a conversion.
— Holden Walter-Warner