Historic Lower Manhattan Building Gets New Life as Luxury Condos
The project is part of a steady stream of office-to-multifamily makeovers in the city’s Financial District.
Developer Diamond Lane LLC has converted 14 Maiden Lane, a 10-story skyscraper in Manhattan, into nine full-floor condos. The 10-story historic building in Lower Manhattan was one of New York City’s earliest skyscrapers and served as the former Diamond Exchange.
Prices for the condominiums, which average about 1,300 square feet, will start at approximately $2.6 million, according to NYR.com, the building’s sales agent. The development team also includes Morali Architects, structural engineering firm Kiefer & Schuster Engineering and A&D Engineering, which provides MEP engineering services.
Diamond Lane acquired the building, which was then being used as artists’ lofts and commercial space, in early 2022 for $9.5 million. While most of the building will be residential condominiums, there will be one commercial condo space.
Diamond in the rough
Built between 1892 and 1894, the landmark is considered one of the city’s most architecturally significant turn of the century-era structures. Designed by architect Gilbert A. Schellenger, the building was among the first in New York to incorporate bay windows. Since it was designed to serve the diamond trade, the windows were engineered to maximize natural light exposure for the diamond dealers. Additionally, it was also built within a fireproof cast iron structure with reinforced flooring to support the heavy jewelry safes.
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Now known as The Diamond Exchange Condominium, each of the nine residential floors in the newly redeveloped building has two full bedrooms and bathrooms and a flex room that can be used as a home office, third bedroom or extension of the living room with the use of a folding wall system. The living rooms have soaring ceilings, including some floors where they are more than 12 feet high. Kitchens have an open-concept design and include stainless steel appliances. Other features include Bosch washers and dryers in each residence, steam showers in one of the bathrooms, European white oak chevron floors and a built-in bar with a wine cellar. Each unit will have multi-zone air conditioning and heating.
The penthouse condo includes a rooftop deck with an outdoor kitchen and pergola, and the lobby has a diamond-shaped chandelier. Building amenities include a package room, storage compartments, high-speed internet and virtual doorman service.
Located in the Financial District, the building is minutes from multiple subway lines, the Fulton Street Transportation Hub, major banks, insurance companies and financial institutions, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Upscale dining and shopping options nearby include Nobu, Cipriani, Tiffany’s and Hermès.
More FiDi conversions
Manhattan’s Financial District has seen numerous commercial buildings converted into residential properties, with more in the planning stages. Last year, Vanbarton Group, one of the city’s leaders in office-to-residential conversion strategies, completed Pearl House, a 24-story office building located at 160 Water St. into a 30-story residential property with 588 units.
Other recent Financial District conversions include Metro Loft and Silverstein Properties’ transformation of 55 Broad Street from a 30-story office tower to 571 luxury residential units. A 22-story office building at 25 Water St., now known as SoMA, was reconfigured into 1,320 units by GFP Real Estate, Metro Loft and Rockwood Capital. It’s currently the largest office-to-residential conversion in the U.S.
In August, Bushburg Properties secured a $320 million construction loan for the partial office-to-residential conversion of the 1.2 million-square-foot office building at 80 Pine St. in the Financial District. Construction is underway on levels two through 17 of the 38-story tower, where 713 residential units will be created.
