Work is progressing on the office-to-residential conversion and expansion of the former Pfizer headquarters at 229 East 42nd Street in Midtown East, Manhattan. Designed by Gensler and developed by Metro Loft Development and David Werner Real Estate Investments, the project involves the gut renovation and full re-cladding of the 33-story tower, along with the construction of a 19-story vertical expansion of the adjacent building at 219 East 42nd Street. The conversion will yield 1,600 rental apartments, with 25 percent reserved for affordable housing, as well as ground-floor retail space and 100,000 square feet of amenities. The abutting properties are located at the northwestern corner of East 42nd Street and Second Avenue.
A two-story steel-framed extension and crane have been assembled atop the roof of 229 East 42nd Street, and a hoist is attached to the western side of the building. The removal of the mid-century façade has yet to begin. Meanwhile, the reinforced concrete addition has begun to rise atop the ten-story annex at 219 East 42nd Street.
219-229 East 42nd Street. Photo by Michael Young.
219-229 East 42nd Street. Photo by Michael Young.
219-229 East 42nd Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The following photos give a closer look at 219 East 42nd Street’s rising 19-story addition, which will bring its height to 29 stories and 348 feet tall. Based on the pace of progress, construction could top out before the end of the year.
The annex at 219 East 42nd Street will span 465,794 square feet and yield 536 of the conversion’s 1,600 units, and will also include a 30-foot-long rear yard.
219-229 East 42nd Street. Photo by Michael Young.
219-229 East 42nd Street. Photo by Michael Young.
219-229 East 42nd Street. Photo by Michael Young.
Here we see the site from early August, looking above Midtown East at the eastern side of the project.
219-229 East 42nd Street. Photo by Michael Young.
219-229 East 42nd Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The rendering in the main photo previews the revamped cladding, which will feature more expansive glass for a modern aesthetic. The existing dark metal spandrels will be replaced with what looks to be aluminum with vertical ridges. Both structures are shown with landscaped terraces atop their setbacks and roofs.
Amenities will include a rooftop swimming pool, a fitness center, and more to be announced.
The property is a short walk east of the Grand Central–42nd Street subway station and Grand Central Terminal, serving the 4, 5, 6, 7, and Shuttle trains, the Metro-North rail system, and Long Island Rail Road at the subterranean Grand Central Madison concourse.
YIMBY expects work on 219 and 229 East 42nd Street to conclude sometime between late 2027 and early 2028.
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Good; cant wait till its done. Not sure I will ever live there but we need to keep bringing new apartments online of all income levels.
Wow! I thought the rendering is the original facade, and that’s a very good thing. The building retains its mid-century look, only better than the original. This is an excellent project and model for other older office building conversions. Bravo.
Just so long as they are not using glazed white brick, the spalling bane of mid-century buildings.
What is that great building with all those setbacks just to the north here on second ave? offices or residential?
Those are offices. It’s 801 2nd Avenue
Nicely done! Glad to see midtown east getting more apartments!
The taller building under Pfizer was 235 E 42nd. Did they change the address?
Very nice project from an aesthetic point of view. But what happened to the Pfizer HQ? Did it move out of the city? Where did it relocate to, perhaps a suburb? Did the city lose thousands of jobs? In the city’s current obsession with creating housing, are we losing some of our core economic base? On another topic, what is that remarkable red brick building in the final photo? Is it residential?
Easy with the barrage of questions.
They moved to The Spiral at Hudson Yards.
Thank you for the info, Charles. Glad it stayed in the city. I think the article should have mentioned that. Yimby tends to focus on the newly constructed or converted and rarely discusses what was there before and has been displaced. Sorry for the barrage.
Yes it is residential with ground floor retail! My parents live there and I was just watching the pfizer building construction from the window yesterday. I wish I could upload videos; I had a great view of them from the 20th floor. Regarding the brick building, what’s wonderful is how generous they were with the units. Only 3 units per floor.
I wonder if they will keep the amazing mosaics in the lobby of the 239 building? Also, the floorplates on the lower flowers are huge (I used to work on the second floor). Wondering how they will make that useful residential space.
The metal mosaics were removed and reportedly, “up for grabs.”
Thanks for the update. Let’s hope they find a good home.