David Werner Buying Durst’s 675 Third Avenue

David Werner struck a deal to buy a Third Avenue office building from the Dursts in what could be another residential conversion.

Werner is in contract to buy the 32-story 675 Third Avenue from the Durst Organization for more than $100 million, sources told The Real Deal.

The investor is still considering his options for the 340,000-square-foot building, which stands at the corner of 42nd Street and Third Avenue. The Dursts had put the property up for sale in the fall as a potential office-to-residential conversion, and Werner is already working on the city’s largest conversion project at the former Pfizer headquarters in Midtown.

But 675 Third Avenue is about two-thirds occupied by some tenants with “sticky” leases, according to a source familiar with the property, which could make it difficult to clear the way for a conversion.

Werner has had talks with Nathan Berman at Metro Loft Management, his partner on the Pfizer project, about the 675 Third deal, sources said.

A representative for Werner declined to comment, and a spokesperson for the Dursts was not immediately available. Berman declined to comment as well. A Newmark team led by Adam Spies and Adam Doneger negotiated the deal.

Office to residential conversions are picking up steam, given a boost by the Adams administration’s City of Yes. The legislation expanded the crop of buildings that could be converted from those constructed before 1961 to ones built before 1991.

The Dursts built 675 Third Avenue in 1966.

Just a few blocks north, Berman is teaming up with Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer’s Quantum Pacific to convert the office building at 767 Third Avenue. That tower was built in 1981. In order to take advantage of the new floor-to-area ratio cap of 15, though, the property may have to go through an upzoning.