Office to Residential Conversion in NYC: Where Manhattan’s Next Luxury Condos Are Coming From

Former office buildings are becoming one of the more important sources of new housing in Manhattan, and a handful of them are being finished as luxury condominiums. In this guide we explain the size of the conversion pipeline, how the 467-m tax incentive and the City of Yes zoning changes work, and why most of the large projects are rentals with affordability requirements rather than condos. We then map the notable conversions in Tribeca, the Financial District, Midtown and elsewhere, and close with the physical details a buyer should look at closely in any converted building.

The Manhattan Conversion Pipeline at a Glance

The pace of conversions has picked up sharply since 2023. According to Cushman & Wakefield research reported by Bisnow, office-to-residential construction starts in New York City reached about 4.3 million square feet in the eleven months through November 2025, up roughly 60 percent from 2024, and the firm counted about 9.5 million square feet of conversions planned to start in 2026. That 2026 figure is more than double the 2025 total and nearly double the prior peak of 4.8 million square feet set in 2008.

The New York City Comptroller's July 2025 analysis, as reported by 6sqft, identified 44 office conversion projects initiated since the pandemic, covering about 15.2 million square feet and as many as 17,400 homes, concentrated in Manhattan south of 59th Street. Cushman & Wakefield's research, as summarized by Greystone, also found that just over half of proposed conversions now involve Class A buildings, compared with 5.5 percent of projects before 2020. That shift matters for buyers, because better buildings generally make better homes.

The table below lists the notable Manhattan conversions we discuss in this article. Unit counts and developers come from the reporting cited in each section.

How the 467-m Tax Incentive Works

The 467-m program was created in New York State's 2024 budget to encourage conversions of non-residential buildings into housing. According to a program briefing from the law firm Herrick, Feinstein, it is a partial property tax exemption for buildings converted into residential rental housing that include permanently affordable apartments.

Affordability: at least 25 percent of units must be affordable, at a weighted average of 80 percent of area median income.
Deeper affordability: at least 5 percent of units must serve households at or below 40 percent of area median income.
Integration: affordable units must share entrances and common areas, and any floor with affordable units must also be at least 30 percent market rate.
Timing: construction must start on or after December 31, 2022 and finish by December 31, 2039.

The size of the benefit depends on location and start date. In the Manhattan Prime Development Area, Herrick's briefing shows a 90 percent exemption for most of the term, with a 35-year benefit for projects that started by June 30, 2026, a 30-year benefit for starts by June 30, 2028, and a 25-year benefit for starts by June 30, 2031. Since the first deadline has now passed, new Manhattan projects are working with the shorter terms.

Buyers should understand one point plainly. As Bisnow reported, 467-m applies only to rental projects. That is why the largest conversions in Lower Manhattan and Midtown are mixed-income rental buildings, and why condo conversions tend to be smaller, more boutique projects that proceed without the incentive.

What City of Yes Changed for Conversions

Zoning was the other major barrier. The City Council approved City of Yes for Housing Opportunity on December 5, 2024, according to a summary by the law firm Cozen O'Connor. Before the change, the more flexible conversion rules generally applied only to buildings constructed before 1961 and only in parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

According to the Department of City Planning's guide to the conversion provisions, eligibility now extends to buildings constructed before 1991, and conversions are allowed anywhere residential use is permitted. The rules also allow a wider range of housing types, such as shared housing with common amenities. The practical effect is that a large stock of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s office towers, many of them in Midtown, became candidates for residential use.

The city also runs an Office Conversion Accelerator, launched in August 2023 to help owners through approvals. Bisnow reported that owners of 64 buildings had expressed interest in the program by May 2024.

Most Conversions Are Rentals: The Condo Share in Numbers

For condo buyers, the more useful number is how many converted homes will actually be for sale. The New York City Comptroller's analysis of the office conversion pipeline, using data as of the first quarter of 2025, counted 32 rental projects with 16,510 units and 12 condominium projects with 922 units, out of 44 buildings and 17,432 units in total.

In other words, condos are a small slice of the conversion story, which makes the ones that do come to market comparatively scarce. That scarcity fits the broader picture we described in our third quarter 2026 market analysis, where luxury inventory has been tight while demand at $5 million and up has held. For week-by-week contract activity, our Luxury Market Watch tracks signed deals at the top of the market.

Luxury Condo Conversions to Know

The Flatiron Building, 175 Fifth Avenue. The 1902 tower is itself an office-to-condo conversion. Propmodo reported that Macmillan Publishers occupied the building for about 60 years before leaving in 2019, and that a group led by GFP Real Estate bought it at a 2023 auction for $161 million, with The Brodsky Organization later joining to lead the redevelopment. Propmodo's August 2026 report counted 36 residences, with 18 of the 22 publicly listed homes sold, residences expected to be move-in ready in fall 2026, and the full amenity package expected in early 2027. Studio Sofield is the interior designer. Our Flatiron Building page has more on the building.

101 Franklin Street, Tribeca. According to 6sqft, Skylight Real Estate Partners, Cannon Hill Capital Partners and TPG plan to convert this 1948 former city office building, formerly known as 250 Church Street, into 72 market-rate condominiums. The 17-story building would gain about four floors to reach 21 stories, with Steven Harris Architects on design and Rees Roberts + Partners on interiors. Manhattan Community Board 1 approved the proposal in March 2026, and it moved on to the Department of City Planning. We cover it alongside other downtown projects in our Tribeca new developments guide.

140 West 57th Street, Billionaires' Row. Connect CRE reported in April 2025 that The Feil Organization, with joint venture partners including Lloyd Goldman, planned to convert this 14-story 1908 office building into a 47-unit luxury condominium, preserving its landmarked neo-Gothic facade. MdeAS Architects is the architect, and completion was projected at the time for the fourth quarter of 2026.

245 West 55th Street (the DuArt Building). New York YIMBY reported in June 2026 that Mandelbaum & Mandelbaum is adding six stories to this building to reach 18, creating 42 condominiums, with completion posted on site for spring 2027.

26 Bleecker Street, NoHo. According to Hoodline, Izaki Group Investments bought this seven-story building in December 2025 for about $38.1 million and has proposed luxury condominiums above ground-floor retail, with BKSK Architects on the design. As of May 2026, the plan still required Landmarks Preservation Commission approval.

The Large Rental Conversions Reshaping FiDi and Midtown

The biggest projects are rentals, and they are worth knowing even for buyers, because they are changing the residential character of entire districts. Bisnow reported that 25 Water Street, delivered in 2025 by GFP Real Estate, Metro Loft Management and Rockwood Capital with 1,320 apartments, is the largest office-to-residential conversion in the country.

In the Financial District, New York YIMBY reported that Vanbarton Group's 77 Water Street will have 647 rental apartments, 25 percent of them affordable, with completion posted for spring 2027, and that Bushburg's Pearl & Pine at 80 Pine Street is creating 713 rentals under 467-m with 25 percent of units at 80 percent of area median income. Propmodo reported that RXR began construction in March 2026 on 61 Broadway, a 796-apartment conversion targeting 2027.

In Midtown, Bisnow reported that Metro Loft and David Werner plan more than 1,600 apartments at the former Pfizer headquarters on East 42nd Street, the largest project in the pipeline, and that TF Cornerstone is converting 135 East 57th Street into about 350 mixed-income apartments. New York YIMBY reported that the same Metro Loft and David Werner team expects to finish 464 rentals at 675 Third Avenue in the second quarter of 2027.

What to Look For in a Converted Building

Converted buildings can produce exceptional homes, often with volume and character that new construction cannot match. Because the structure was designed for another use, a careful buyer should evaluate a few things that matter more here than in a ground-up tower.

Floor plates: deep office floors can leave long interior zones far from windows. Look at how the layout uses the core, and whether any rooms rely on borrowed light.
Window lines: check the number, size and spacing of windows in each room, and whether bedrooms have compliant, operable windows.
Ceiling heights: older office and loft buildings often have generous slab-to-slab heights. Ask what the finished height is after new mechanical systems and soffits are installed.
Mechanicals: confirm whether heating, cooling and ventilation are new, how each apartment is served, and where equipment sits relative to your unit.
Plumbing and acoustics: ask how new risers were routed and what sound attenuation was added between units.
Facade and landmark status: landmarked exteriors carry real charm, but they can affect future alterations and maintenance budgets.

In a new condo offering, the offering plan, the building's projected budget and the description of construction answer most of these questions. Reviewing them with your attorney and broker before signing is standard practice, and it is where we spend much of our time with clients. If you are still weighing ownership structures more broadly, our co-op or condo framework is a useful starting point.

Our Take and Next Steps

Office conversions will add meaningful housing to Manhattan over the next several years, and the policy tailwinds from 467-m and City of Yes are real. For condo buyers, the opportunity is narrower but genuine: a small group of boutique and landmark conversions, from the Flatiron Building to Tribeca and Billionaires' Row, offering a type of home that is hard to find elsewhere.

Early access matters in projects this small, and so does a clear read on how each building was physically adapted. If you would like a walkthrough of the conversion condos coming to market, or help comparing one with a ground-up new development, contact our team and we will put together a short list based on your search.

Work with Elevated

We have helped clients buy and sell residences in nearly every notable building throughout New York City, including 443 Greenwich, 70 Vestry, 56 Leonard, 111 Murray, 71 Laight, and 80 Clarkson, among many others. We are also proud to have represented the most expensive penthouse ever sold in Downtown Manhattan, a $60 million residence at 150 Charles Street. More than half of our transactions take place off-market, as many of the best opportunities never reach a public listing site. Talk to us before you bid. We can help you understand not only what to buy, but how a building actually operates, how it is perceived in the market, and what you should know before making an offer.