GFP, Metro Loft’s 25 Water Street leads pack of NYC’s largest office-to-resi conversions

There’s been plenty of chatter around office-to-residential conversions in New York, but also questions about who is actually pulling it off.

The Real Deal crunched the data to find all the properties scheduled for such overhauls. TRD‘s analysis of alteration permits filed between 2022-2023 revealed the five biggest office-to-residential projects. Here’s a look.

25 Water Street

After the March ribbon cutting for Harry Macklowe’s One Wall Street, 25 Water Street has taken the title for the country’s largest office-to-residential conversion with proposals to alter more than 900,000 of the building’s 1.1 million square feet.

Formerly known as 4 New York Plaza, the 22-story office used to house the New York Daily News, American Media and J.P. Morgan Chase, all of which cleared out during the pandemic. Owners GFP Real Estate and Nathan Berman’s Metro Loft Management nabbed the historic property for $250 million in December with plans to add 10 floors while gutting its insides to allow for light and courtyard spaces.

The eventual 1,200 rentals will range from studios to four-bedroom apartments, fitting in 50 units per floor. Some of those homes will offer 10 foot ceilings as well as windowless home offices.

160 Water Street

Gensler is the architecture firm behind this 487,000-square-foot conversion in the Financial District. Five floors will be added to the 24-story former office building, offering 586 rentals that will have access to a communal rooftop terrace, a gym, co-working and dining spaces, a bowling alley and a spa.

The massive redesign and expansion is financed by a $272.5 million loan from Brookfield Real Estate Financial Partners, which will also allow its developer, Vanbarton Group, to reskin the facade. Tenants are expected to arrive beginning September 2024.

55 Broad Street

Steps from the construction site of Lower Manhattan’s soon-to-be tallest residential tower at 45 Broad Street, Silverstein Properties and Metro Loft Management plan to convert the office building at 55 Broad into 571 market-rate rentals.

The pair paid $172.5 million to the Rudin family for the property in July, with the former owner retaining a stake in the project. Permits filed in August list 49 Broad Street as the location for more than 400,000 square feet of construction, adding six floors to the 30-story building.

Amenities will include a private club, a gym, co-working spaces and a 45-foot rooftop pool with landscaped sundeck and grilling area. Construction is expected to start this month.

650 First Avenue

Lalezarian Properties scooped up this eight-story office building for $33.5 million on March 23, one day after the Department of Buildings gave it the green light to bring housing to the Murray Hill property. Once complete, the building will include 23,000 square feet of commercial space and upwards of 116,000 square feet of housing, filings show.

330 West 42nd Street

In Midtown, Resolution Real Estate has big plans for a partial conversion of its McGraw-Hill Building at 330 West 42nd Street. The 33-story art deco tower, which was designated a city landmark in 1979, will convert more than 560,000 square feet into 224 rental units, ranging from studios to two-bedrooms from its 12th to 32nd floors.

But the dramatic, $100 million renovation won’t nix office contracts; corporate tenants will continue to rent space on the lower floors. Previously, its owners spent $40 million to remove non-historical windows to restore the space’s iconic appearance along one of the city’s major arteries.

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