The former Pfizer headquarters at 229 East 42nd Street and the adjoining ten-story tower annex at 219 East 42nd Street in Midtown East, Manhattan, are set to undergo an office-to-residential conversion. Designed by Gensler and developed by Metro Loft Development LLC and David Werner Real Estate Investments, the project will involve the gut renovation of the 33-story structure and full re-cladding of its mid-century façade, as well as the construction of 19 new floors above the annex. The conversion will yield 1,600 rental apartments, with 25 percent reserved for affordable housing, as well as ground-floor retail space and 100,000 square feet of amenities.
The new envelope will replace the existing darker paneling with aluminum vertical ridges. The 19-story addition above the annex at 219 East 42nd Street will bring its height to 29 stories and 348 feet tall, enclosed in floor-to-ceiling glass with thinner mullions than its sibling at the corner. Robert Fuller, principal at Gensler, said, “Conversions offer the promise of helping to transform more areas that were historically centralized business districts into vibrant, 24/7 neighborhoods.
New York City has a long history of repurposing outdated buildings to create new housing.
Office-to-residential transformation underway in Manhattan
All you have to do is walk the streets of Soho or the waterfront in Brooklyn and you’ll see endless examples of old manufacturing and factory buildings converted to residential.”
Amenities at the upcoming development will include a rooftop swimming pool and a fitness center.
The property is a short walk east of the Grand Central-42nd Street subway station and Grand Central Terminal, serving the 4, 5, 6, 7, and Shuttle trains, the Metro-North rail system, and the Long Island Rail Road at the subterranean Grand Central Madison concourse. The effort to convert Pfizer’s former New York headquarters into residences has secured financing to help developers forge ahead on the project. Investment firm Northwind Group provided a $135 million acquisition loan to David Werner Real Estate Investments.
The debt is secured by the fee interest in 235 E. 42nd St. A completion date for 219 and 229 East 42nd Streets has yet to be announced.