Williams Equities is looking to fetch around $130 million for its office Manhattan property 79 Madison Avenue, which could be used as a conversion into luxury condos, according to a report from the Commercial Observer.
The 17-story asset lies in the NoMad area at the corner of 28th Street. Currently, Eastdil Secured is marketing the property as a luxury condo conversion. If everything does go through as planned, it would mark the first of such transformations in the neighborhood.
While no specific buyers were listed, discussions are centered around a $130 million price point, according to CO.
The 278,000-square-foot property could be ideal for an office-to-residential conversion thanks to its high ceilings, big windows and spacious floorplates. Also, 79 Madison includes 15,000 square feet of retail space that's leased to furniture shop Blu Dot. The largest tenant at the building is WeWork. While the coworking giant signed a 15-year lease in 2014 to occupy 108,000 square feet, the new landlord would have the option to opt out of the deal before it's set to mature.
Particularly in New York City, office-to-residential conversions are becoming increasingly more common amid a housing shortage crisis. Most recently, the former headquarters of the National Enquirer and the New York Daily News at 25 Water Street in the Financial District transitioned into 1,320 luxury apartments. Owned by Metro Loft Management, Rockwood Capital, and GFP Real Estate LLC, rents have been originally priced between $3,840 and $8,050.
Also, Northwind Group is transforming two Manhattan office properties, which were the former headquarters of Pfizer, into 1,600 multifamily units. The developer is dubbing the project the "largest office to residential conversion in NYC history."
Sarah Hawkins, CEO of East Region for Hines noted last month at a real estate outlook 2025 panel at NYU Stern School of Business, that an ambitious 17 million square feet of office-to-residential properties were in the planning stages in Manhattan alone.