Insights

Mayor Adams unveils proposal to convert Midtown offices into apartments

January 26, 2023 – Media Mention
Gothamist

Chair of Herrick's Land Use and Zoning Practice Mitch Korbey spoke to Gothamist to discuss Mayor Adams 2023 State of the City address. Adams plans to lift a ban on housing in a section of Midtown Manhattan between West 23rd and 41st streets. The proposal builds on recently released recommendations from an office conversion task force, which said that the city could unlock up to 20,000 new apartments by allowing landlords to convert office buildings constructed before 1991 to residential housing.

The city has yet to release specific boundaries for the conversion plan, but a map in the task force's report highlights sections of Midtown where housing is barred.

Mitch discusses how the two proposals complement one another and as businesses flee older offices and manufacturing space in favor of newer buildings or remote work, blocks north of Madison Square Park are "an area frozen in time," per Mitch. He adds, "It's allowing new development, new housing and breathing life into an area that really benefits the city."

Click here to read the full article on Gothamist.