Another New York City office tower is getting a new lease on life — in the form of a residential transformation.
In Midtown South, the towering 419 Park Ave. South is now slated to become the neighborhood’s first office-to-condo conversion since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Crain’s.
The 200,000-square-foot structure was formerly a major location for WeWork, which once occupied more than 60,000 square feet at the address. It was one of 40 New York City locations that the scandalized co-working behemoth tore up its lease for amid recent bankruptcy proceedings.
Walter & Samuels has freshly offloaded the building to fellow real estate firm the Elad Group to the tune of approximately $72 million. Walter & Samuels had owned the property — which was built in 1927 — since 1978, Crain’s reported.
The Elad Group plans to convert the 20-story property into roughly 100 market-rate condos by 2026, a speedy timeline enabled by the fact that, thanks to a dated zoning change, the firm does not require city approval for the project.
As well, the majority of the 40% occupied building’s remaining leases are set to expire by 2027, Kassin Sabbagh Realty’s Albert Sultan, who brokered both sides of the deal with his colleague Marc Sitt, told the outlet.
Repurposing underused office space as in-demand residential units has become a much-discussed trend since the pandemic pulled the rug out from the commercial market — although it’s still to be seen if the fad will pay off in the long run.
In the case of 419 Park Ave. South, one significant factor working in its favor is the fact that, unlike many other work spaces being eyed for conversion, it has stunning views. This feature factored significantly into Elad’s decision to purchase the address, the firm’s COO Alex Olsen revealed, Crain’s reported.