The Wall Street Journal | New York is undergoing a significant wave of office-to-residential conversions, driven by high office vacancy rates after the pandemic, new zoning allowances, and new tax incentives.
Developers have already transformed about 2.8 million sq m of office space over the past two decades, but the pace has accelerated sharply since 2020. More than 25 new conversions—totalling around 820,000 sq m—are now in the pipeline, with Midtown emerging as the centre of activity as large 1980s and 1990s office buildings lose tenants and value.
Architectural firms are overcoming the deep, outdated floorplates of these towers by carving out notches for light and air, reconfiguring floors, and reorganising bathrooms and bedrooms to meet modern residential building codes.
A prominent example is the 35-storey tower at 750 Third Avenue, which is approximately 76,000 sq m, where developers removed more than 2,250 sq m across 11 floors to create a light-bringing notch, introduced a winter garden, and redesigned levels to fit apartments—38 on the sixth floor alone. Citywide, conversions have shifted dramatically toward Midtown, reflecting a structural transition as New York repurposes obsolete office stock into much-needed housing.
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