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Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
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The office tower at former WeWork site 419 Park Ave. South in Manhattan’s Midtown South is converting from coworking to condos. The Elad Group plans to convert the property into 100 market-rate residential condos by 2026.
The project, the first office-to-condo conversion in the neighborhood since the COVID-19 pandemic, reflects rising office vacancies that are driving developers to repurpose commercial spaces — often into residential units to meet evolving market demands.
The New York Post reports that the property was purchased for approximately $72 million. The 200,000-square-foot structure was previously one of WeWork’s New York locations, occupying over 60,000 sq. ft.
The pandemic-induced disruption to the commercial real estate market has led to a movement among landlords and city planners to consider repurposing underused office spaces into in-demand residential units across the U.S.
“Nearly 70 million sq. ft. of office space or 1.7% of total U.S. supply was undergoing conversion to other uses in Q1 2024, up from 60 million sq. ft. or 1.4% of total supply in Q3 2023,” according to a report published by CBRE.
Walter & Samuels, the property’s previous owner since 1978, sold the tower during WeWork’s bankruptcy proceedings — which led to the coworking giant vacating numerous locations, including this one.
This conversion project stands as a compelling example of how New York City’s real estate market is adapting to meet current market demands from both employers and residents. The conversion of 419 Park Ave. South epitomizes the office conversion strategy that has become increasingly proposed across the country to adapt metro areas to the flexible nature of the future of work.
