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A Case Study in Innovation: Rethinking 1633 Broadway
SGA’s plan tackles one of the biggest hurdles in office conversions: a lack of natural light. With massive 45,000-square-foot floor plates, the building’s interior would be unlivable without drastic intervention. The firm proposes removing parts of each floor to reduce the size to 34,000 square feet, carving the structure to allow light and air to penetrate.
They envision a new facade and flowing architectural form that makes the once-blocky building more dynamic and livable. The result is not just a functional redesign, but a complete aesthetic reinvention, turning the tower into a true urban residence.
Studios Architecture imagines 1633 Broadway as a "Vertical Village," transforming the tower into a self-sustaining community. Their plan introduces “Superfloors” between two residential towers, each floor dedicated to different functions: work, live, and play.
By removing the center of the building and constructing new structures upward using repurposed materials, they dramatically improve air flow, reduce carbon emissions, and create shared spaces that foster social interaction. The concept envisions a new type of high-rise living where sustainability and community intersect.
SOM: From Monolith to Mixed-Income Model
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) offers perhaps the most radical rethinking of the site, one that seeks to address the housing and climate crises in tandem. Their plan reuses much of the original structure, cutting into the monolithic form to bring in light and air, then adding new volume to the base and top.
What sets SOM’s proposal apart is its equity-driven model. The redesigned building would include a mix of luxury units, co-living spaces, and micro-affordable apartments distributed horizontally to give all residents access to natural light and views. Instead of stacking luxury above and affordability below, the layout promotes social integration and livability.
Echoing the great race to the sky when the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and 40 Wall Street were all trying to be the world’s tallest building, the race to be the biggest office-to-residential conversion has been heating up in Manhattan. Pearl House boasted the largest office-to-residential to date but was soon surpassed by the nearby, newly launched SoMA.
SoMA is expected to hold the title at least until 219-235 East 42nd Street (the former Pfizer Building) comes to market.
Below is a list of office buildings in various stages of conversion to rental housing, signaling a future in where yesterday’s 9 to 5 hubs become tomorrow’s 24-hour neighborhoods.
Recent office-to-rental conversions now leasing

With only a handful of units remaining among its 588 apartments, the property's 30,000 square feet of luxury, resort-style, private club-inspired amenities are now complete, including Sky House rooftop amenity complex featuring an expansive wraparound terrace with landscaped seating areas, cozy cabanas, and gas grills for autumn barbecues, further helping drive demand and interest. Pearl House has established itself as a standout in the Seaport District. Compass Development Marketing Group is the exclusive marketing and leasing partner.

Approximately 100,000 square feet of lifestyle amenities includes a wellness and fitness component as well as a landscaped roof terrace with vistas of the New York Harbor, Brooklyn, and Downtown Manhattan, grilling stations, private dining, and an indoor serenity lounge overlooking Battery Park, a basketball court, two private indoor pickleball courts as well as access to the 18,000-square-foot SoMA Athletic Club, encompassing a top-of-the-line fitness center, Training Studio, Pilates Studio, and Yoga Studio. The All Season 75’ Pool isn’t the only pool as there is an additional outdoor pool on the 25th floor. Compass Development Marketing Group is the exclusive marketing and leasing partner.

Residents of the apartments enjoy access to approximately 25,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities. These include a 24-hour attended lobby with library, a fitness center with Technogym equipment and separate yoga studio, a residents' lounge, and coworking space. A rooftop terrace features an outdoor pool and resort-style sun deck with dining and lounging areas. Compass Development Marketing Group is the exclusive marketing and leasing partner for market-rate units, and an affordable lottery for 143 units is in effect until August 4, 2025.



Office-to-rental conversions under construction
225 East 42nd Street, Murray Hill
1,600 units | Under construction - Anticipated Leasing Launch: 2027
Designed by acclaimed architecture and design firm and O2R expert Gensler, the project will include a 21–story addition atop the current 10-story building. It will also overtake SoMA as NYC’s and the country's largest O2R conversion to date upon completion, which is estimated for the fourth quarter of 2027.

330 West 42nd Street, Midtown West
224 units | Under Construction |- Anticipated Leasing Launch: 2026

Planned Conversions
220 West 42nd Street, Midtown West
25 stories | 172 units | Planned - Permits Filed
The individual city landmark was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In 2022, Yellowstone Real Estate Investments, headed by Isaac Hera, took ownership of the Candler Building via a deed-in-lieu settlement, according to The Real Deal. With many of its floors vacant since the pandemic, Yellowstone filed plans for a 265-room hotel in 2024 and, in March 2025, for a 192-unit residential conversion. Isaac & Stern Architects is listed as the architect of record. Although full plans are not yet public, the project will gut and reconfigure the former office floors into residential units while preserving the ornate lobby and exterior façade.
It remains to be seen how much demand there is to live on this bustling stretch of West 42nd Street, but with the massive conversions of 5 Times Square and the McGraw-Hill Building nearby, developers appear to be betting renters will be open to raucous crowds and bright lights of the area.


Formerly owned by Sage, the mid-century tower features an open plaza area with locust trees and a steel replica of a World War I fighter plane on the roof,





592 Seventh Avenue, Midtown West
1,250 units | Permits Filed - Completion estimated for 2027
More recently, before the Memorial Day holiday in May 2025, the Empire State Development board of directors unanimously voted to approve the conversion project. The first phase of construction is estimated to be completed in 2027.


This is Park and his team at PD Properties' largest redevelopment to date, aiming to complete the conversion at a time of limited rental inventory in Manhattan. The project is seen as a potential model for smaller-scale office-to-residential conversions, a trend gaining traction in response to high vacancies in older Class B and C properties, and government incentives to make such conversions feasible. Park has secured $22 million in financing from Alma Bank and Bank of Hope.


Financial District
500 units | Proposed


Midtown East
Proposed

Financial District
Proposed

North Chelsea
Proposed
No plans have been filed yet to convert the approximately 190,000-square-foot building between West 29th and West 30th streets into apartments. However, Katan Group's president noted that the area is primed for a major transformation, emphasizing its potential to add thousands of new residential units.
