At first glance, architects had a banner year this year.
The number of permits filed for many of the city’s top architects doubled or even tripled from last year. The incumbent top architect, Nikolai Katz, had his filings explode to 61 this year from 15 last year.
But dig a little deeper, and the numbers show a different phenomenon — one that appears to be entirely driven by the city’s affordable housing tax abatement, 485-x, which was rolled out in April 2024.
The abatement requires projects building over 99 units to pay construction workers the prevailing union wages, resulting in the complete elimination of large projects using the city’s tax abatement program.
Instead, there have been a series of smaller projects that allow developers to stay under 100 units — and lead to more permits for architects.
For example, Katz has five projects with more than one permit filed for work being done on the same block. Combining the total number of units of each set of permits would yield over 100 units every time.
The numbers back up what architects have described for much of the past year.
“People are looking for smaller deals — clients that used to build 500-unit buildings are now looking at 100-unit buildings or less,” Ben Grunwald, JFA chief operating officer and partner, told The Real Deal in May.
Aside from the impact of 485-x, 2025 showed an industry that is getting back to work. In the third quarter of this year, there were permits filed for 11,746 multifamily units, a 69 percent increase from the prior quarter and the highest total since the first quarter of 2022.
Read below for more about the most active architects filing those permits. The 2025 ranking is based on the number of initial permit applications filed for new buildings and renovations and reflects the architect of record through Dec. 1 on projects of at least 10,000 square feet. The methodology differs from the one TRD uses for its annual rankings published during the spring.
- Nikolai Katz | 61 applications | 2.4M sf
Nikolai Katz once again claimed the top spot as the city’s most active architect. His business has continued to benefit from its orientation in the outer boroughs like Brooklyn and the Bronx, which have accounted for over 78 percent of the more than 5,800 units proposed under 485-x, according to data from the Real Estate Board of New York.
In the Bronx alone, Katz is responsible for 36 permits covering 2,352 proposed units, including a set of 99-unit buildings on Mt. Hope Place. Katz’s one permit for a building with more than 99 units is at 30-17 12th Street in Astoria, Queens, where he is working on a nine-story building spanning over 98,000 square feet that will yield 124 units.
- Leandro Nils Dickson Architect | 32 applications | 1.2M sf
For the second straight year, Leandro Nils Dickson Architect secured second place on the list of most active architects.
Similar to Katz, the architect specializes in midsize projects in the outer boroughs. The largest project filing for the architect is a more-than 70,000 square foot project in the Bronx on Marion Avenue which is expected to yield 45 units. Steven Westreich of Westorchard Management is listed as the owner behind the applications.
- DXA Studio | 18 applications | 440K sf
DXA Studio has its fingerprints on a number of high-end condo developments across the city, including Avdoo’s 105-unit project called Bergen, but its filings as the architect of record this year are based in the outer stretches of Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens.
Its one Manhattan-based filing is for a 54-unit development from Lipa Engel at 47 East 30th Street that will rise 21 stories and span roughly 36,000 square feet.
- Node Architecture | 17 applications | 577K sf
Founded in 2010 by Jakov Saric and Radomir Delic, Node Architecture did not appear on the list of top architects at all last year when the firm had just five filings for a total proposed square footage of roughly 85,000.
This year, Node has a single project spanning more square feet than that, an 11-story mixed-used building in East Harlem spanning over 101,000 square feet. The project will yield 96 residences.
Node’s other major project is taking place on East 167th Street in the Bronx, and is split across two buildings, one of which will yield 98 residences and the other of which will yield 85 residences. The total combined square footage of the project will be almost 139,000 square feet.
- Kao Hwa Lee Architects | 17 applications | 1.2M sf
Despite not having a website, Kao Hwa Lee Architects has made its presence felt in the city with a number of projects over 50,000 square feet. The firm has also gotten in on the 99-unit boom with over 33 percent of its 17 filings for 99-unit buildings.
The largest of those is an 88,000-square-foot project in Williamsburg on North 8th Street which will rise 17 stories. The architect’s smallest project by unit count is a 29-unit mixed-use building at 31 Church Avenue in Brooklyn, which will have commercial, residential and community space.
- JFA Architects & Engineers | 17 applications | 1.3M sf
JFA may be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the industry’s pivot to multiple sub-100-unit projects. The firm submitted six separate applications for buildings under 100 units on 165th Street in Queens in July for a project that will in total deliver 591 units across over 450,000 square feet.
The firm also submitted applications for neighboring buildings in Long Island that would yield a combined 166 units spanning over 160,000 square feet.
- Gerald Caliendo Architects | 16 applications | 285K sf
Gerald Caliendo Architects has the honor of being the representative with the smallest average project size on the list, with its 16 applications covering an average of just over 24,000 square feet.
Its largest proposed project spans over 65,000 square feet in Kew Gardens, Queens, and would yield 57 residential units. The firm has also taken on a number of alterations this year.
- S. Wieder Architect | 15 applications | 946K sf
S. Wieder Architect fell to eighth from third last year, despite filing five more applications this year. Its largest filings are for a pair of 99-unit buildings at 230 and 234 Clarkson Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens for developers Shlomo Karpen and Louis Handler of Keren Star Management. The site had previously been marketed as able to hold a single project of more than 150,000 square feet, according to Crain’s.
- Badaly Architects | 14 applications | 421K sf
Nima Badaly launched his eponymous firm in 1988, and works alongside his two sons, Shahin and Shakib, who serve as an engineer and architect, respectively.
Bronx-based Badaly Architects, launched by Nima Badaly in 1988, is loyal to its borough. Every one of the firm’s applications is for projects in the Bronx. The largest is a 99-unit project at 2748 Jerome Avenue spanning almost 70,000 square feet.
- Gensler | 11 applications | 2.4M sf
Gensler arguably has claim to the most renowned projects on this list, reflected by its millions of proposed square feet across just 11 applications.
All but one of the filings are for alterations, which speaks to how Gensler has also managed to corner the office-to-residential segment of the market. Its largest project involves converting roughly 760,000 square feet of office space at 750 Third Avenue into 680 apartments for SL Green Realty.
Gensler is also behind InterVest Capital Partners’ 571-unit conversion project at 30 Broad Street, Vanbarton Group’s 440-unit conversion project at 6 East 43rd Street and Metro Loft and David Werner Real Estate Investments’ 464-unit conversion project at 675 Third Avenue.