Moinian Begins Manhattan Office-to-Residential Project
A quarter of the community's apartments will be designated as affordable housing.
The Moinian Group has started work on the office-to-residential conversion of Building A at 17 Battery Place, a 31-story office building located in Lower Manhattan. The redevelopment will involve converting approximately 150,000 square feet of office space on five floors to 220 residential units. Completion slated for Q1 2027, according to the developer.
The landmark building, formerly known was built in 1904, and originally designed by Henry Hardenbergh, an architect better known for The Dakota and the Plaza Hotel.
Following the conversion, residences at Building A will include in-unit washers and dryers, panelized appliances and views of the Statue of Liberty and the Hudson River. Common-area amenities will include a shared rooftop deck, a new recreation space and a fully-redesigned lobby anchored by Lifetime Fitness.
The conversion will also yield 55 permanently affordable units, delivered under New York State’s 467-m tax incentive program. The program, dating from 2024, is designed to encourage the conversion of underutilized office buildings into residential housing.
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Located adjacent to the recently completed Wagner Park, residents of 17 Battery Place will benefit from direct access to green space along the waterfront.
NYC abuzz with conversions
New York City leads the nation in the number of office-to-residential units planned in 2026, at more than 16,000, according to data from RentCafé. The next-largest market for conversions is in greater Washington D.C., with a little more than half that total. Nationwide, conversions are at record levels, with 90,300 units in different stages of development.
In NYC, private equity firm Yellowstone Real Estate Investments secured $203 million in financing in March to support the office-to-residential conversion of the Candler Building, a 25-story office building at 221 W. 41st St. The property will be remade into 176 units of market-rate and affordable housing.
That same month, partners Broad Street Development, PCCP and One Investment Management secured a $175 million loan for an office-to-residential adaptive reuse project in Manhattan. The project, which is also using New York City’s 467-m tax incentive program, will transform the 400,000-square-foot Maritime Building at 80 Broad St. into a 326-unit rental property.
