Nathan Berman and David Werner’s Pfizer HQ Conversion Clears the Way for 16 More Office Conversions

 

• NYC has issued initial permits for 16 more office-to-residential conversions since July.
• A Department of Buildings review of 24 conversion sites found no risk inherent to the strategy.
• Metro Loft and David Werner are converting the former Pfizer HQ into 1,600+ apartments.
• Office conversions could add up to 12,000 apartments citywide.

NYC Issues 16 New Conversion Permits

New York's office-to-residential pipeline is moving again. Since July, the city has issued initial construction permits for 16 more conversion projects, a sign that adaptive reuse remains central to Manhattan's housing strategy.

The approvals follow a citywide review that began after a July construction incident at 235 East 42nd Street, the former Pfizer headquarters near Grand Central. The Department of Buildings inspected 180 construction sites, including 24 office conversions, and found nothing to suggest the issue at the Pfizer building is inherent to office-to-residential work. The sweep turned up routine violations and stop-work orders, but no hazardous structural conditions posing an imminent threat to public safety.

That finding cleared the way for the broader pipeline to keep going.

Berman and Werner Push Ahead at the Former Pfizer HQ

The Pfizer building is the city's most closely watched conversion. Metro Loft, led by founding principal Nathan Berman, and David Werner Real Estate Investments took full control of the Midtown complex in 2024 and are turning it into more than 1,600 apartments, among the largest office-to-residential projects in the country. Gensler is the architect on the conversion.

Berman has built his firm around this playbook. Metro Loft has repositioned older Lower Manhattan office towers into rental housing for decades, and the Pfizer project is its biggest bet yet. The partners have committed to rebuilding the affected section of the building, and work there runs on its own track, separate from the city's review of the wider pipeline.

Why Older Office Buildings Are Becoming Apartments

Conversions have become one of New York's most important sources of new housing supply, especially in older buildings that struggle to compete as conventional office space. Reusing an existing structure saves much of the building rather than starting from scratch, and it puts homes in Midtown and Downtown locations that rarely see new residential construction.

The city expects office conversions to deliver as many as 12,000 apartments in the coming years. Not every building fits the model. Owners weigh floor plate depth, natural light, plumbing, structural capacity, and acquisition cost, and buildings that need lighter alterations pencil out far better than those that need heavy structural work.

The Math Behind the Next Wave

The economics still take discipline. Higher interest rates raise financing costs, and labor, materials, and engineering add up quickly. A firmer office leasing market also gives some owners the option to reposition rather than convert. For each building, the call comes down to office rents versus residential income, available tax incentives, and the cost of the conversion itself.

The projects moving forward now are the ones where the structure, the financing, and the incentives line up.

What Comes Next

The 16 newly permitted projects now have to move from initial permits into full construction and, eventually, delivery. At 235 East 42nd Street, Berman and Werner's rebuild will be the milestone the market tracks, as the largest conversion in the city works toward its 1,600-plus apartments.