Metro Loft files conversion plans for 1,463 units at former Pfizer HQ buildings

Metro Loft Management led by Nathan Berman filed plans to create a total of 1,463 residential units at Pfizer’s former headquarters at 235 East 42nd Street at the corner of Second Avenue and the adjacent building 219 East 42nd Street, in the Grand Central neighborhood of Manhattan.

Crain’s reported last month that construction on the conversion would begin this summer.
Both properties are controlled by David Werner Real Estate Investments. The company controls the 664,653-square-foot 229 East 42nd Street through a 2018 ground lease transaction reported as $360 million, with the lease expiring in 2117; and it owns the 465,792-square-foot 219 East 42nd Street after purchasing it in 2018 for $142 million.

Metro Loft Management frequently partners with other real estate developers and investors, including Silverstein Properties, GFP Real Estate and Vanbarton Group.

In the larger project, filed under job number M01075133, Metro Loft seeks to convert the 33-story building at 229 East 42nd Street, with 672,462 square feet into a 37-story, 927-unit residential (R-2) building with 664,653 zoning square feet and a total size including basement and other space of 728,956 square feet. The plans call for retail on the ground floor, 44 apartments on floors two to eight, then a declining number of residential units on floors nine to 37, falling from 41 units on the ninth floor to 16 on the 37th floor.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.

In the smaller project, filed under job number M01075131, Metro Loft seeks to convert the 10-story building at 219 East 42nd Street that now has 152,362 square feet, into a 29-story, 536-unit residential (R-2) building with 465,792 zoning square feet and 525,777 total construction square feet. The plans also call for retail on the ground floor, but this building also will have office space. The developer plans 40 units on each floor from five to eight, then 20 units for each floor from 10 to 27, and then 16 units on the 28th floor. The top floor will have residential amenities and a terrace. The building would increase in height from 142 feet tall to 348 feet tall.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.