New York City is in the throes of a dual real estate predicament: soaring vacancies in office spaces alongside a dearth of new housing construction.
The seismic shift to remote work, triggered by the pandemic, blindsided many in the commercial real estate realm.
Amidst the turmoil, a revolutionary trend is sweeping through the city’s skyline as developers and architects seize the opportunity to transform dormant office spaces into vibrant residential havens — and they’re willing to gut them if they have to.
For some visionary minds at firms like Vanbarton Group and Gensler, this transition aligns perfectly with their longstanding vision of repurposing empty office behemoths into thriving housing complexes.
Their latest masterpiece, 160 Water Street, a 1970s office tower in lower Manhattan, is undergoing a metamorphosis into 586 modern apartments. This follows their prior success with 180 Water Street, converted into 574 units back in 2017, a testament to their commitment to reshaping the city’s landscape.
Politicians like Mayor Eric Adams have thrown their weight behind these transformations, aiming to smoothen the gears for office-to-residential conversions.
However, these conversions aren’t a walk in Central Park.
The challenge for the majority of New York City’s estimated 96 million square feet of vacant office space lies in the lack of natural light and air circulation within these towering commercial edifices.
To tackle this, daring maneuvers are in play, including slicing holes in the building cores, adding new floors, and revamping all windows to enhance livability.
At 160 Water Street, the architects engineered three towering “blind shafts,” eliminating unusable space too distant from windows.
Creative solutions emerged: doubling up floors, crafting rooftop amenities, and even creating subterranean recreational spaces like gyms and a bowling alley.
Joey Chilelli, Vanbarton’s managing director, explained to Insider, “Instead of adding that dead space to the unit and creating elongated spaces, we redistributed it within the building where it made more sense.”
Robert Fuller, principal at Gensler, also emphasized to the outlet the architectural hurdles: “We couldn’t just wall it off. We had to physically reshape the building, remove floor slabs, and reinforce the structure for the additional floors.”
Such transformations come at a high cost. Rentals at 160 Water will range from $3,500 for a studio to $7,500 for a two-bedroom, pricing that might prove a stretch for many New Yorkers.
Yet, Chilelli advocates for legislative changes to facilitate affordable conversions, seeking tax incentives tied to integrating affordable housing components.
Despite the challenges, these projects breathe new life into neighborhoods, attracting residents and invigorating local commerce. Chilelli envisions the ripple effects, stating, “It really boosts the area and changes the streetscape.”