Office-to-Residential Conversions Set to Reshape NYC's Midtown
Also today: A look at the sixth Chicago Architecture Biennial, and California proposes new regulations to prevent landfill fires.
Redevelopment of the former Pfizer headquarters towers has begun, with offices being converted into residences.
Photographer: Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg
In Midtown Manhattan, the former headquarters of Pfizer is being stripped down to its columns, beams and concrete slabs. Developers plan to turn the towers into roughly 1,600 rental apartments, one of several redevelopment projects that is converting office space into much-needed housing — and reshaping the future of New York City’s core commercial center.
For years, office-to-residential conversions were concentrated in lower Manhattan, where buildings tend to be older. But recent changes in zoning laws and project restrictions — plus a weak office market — have developers eyeing newer properties farther north. As of early September, there are 12.4 million square feet of conversion projects underway or planned in Manhattan. About half of those are located in Midtown. Read more from Natalie Wong, Rachael Dottle and Marie Patino today on Bloomberg: A Wave of New Apartment Buildings Is Set to Take Over Midtown Manhattan