Turning Offices into Condos: New York After the Pandemic

As developers scramble to put together office-to-condo conversions in the wake of the pandemic, Harry Macklowe has stolen a march on the competition with One Wall Street, the city’s largest such conversion, which is on the verge of completion after five years of construction. The former Irving Trust building will soon be home to 566 luxury Downtown Manhattan residences, adding considerable housing stock to an area where empty offices are quickly becoming the norm. One Wall Street is more than just a conversion project; Macklowe’s vision and attention to detail have created a living homage to art-deco elegance and class on Manhattan’s southern tip, complete with spacious interiors, top-of-the-line amenities, and, at its base, a collection of high-end retailers, including Whole Foods Market, LifeTime Fitness and the first US location for French department store Printemps.