Vanbarton Group has secured a $300 million loan from Brookfield to buy and convert a 27-story office tower at 6 E. 43rd St. in Midtown Manhattan into 441 apartments.
The privately-owned real estate and investment firm purchased the building from the Milstein family’s Emigrant Savings Bank for $135 million, according to The Real Deal.
This project will be Vanbarton’s latest office-to-residential conversion in New York City.
Construction is starting right away. The building, which will cover 400,000 square feet, is being redesigned by Gensler. Residents are expected to start moving in by spring 2027.
The location is prime—just steps from Grand Central Terminal and Bryant Park, in the heart of New York City’s business district.
Affordable Housing Units Included in Vanbarton Project
Vanbarton is taking advantage of the city’s 467-m tax program, which offers developers big tax breaks if they set aside at least 25 percent of new apartments as affordable housing. In this project, 111 of the apartments will be designated affordable.
The developer is also using zoning changes from Mayor Eric Adams’ “City of Yes” housing plan, which makes it easier to convert office buildings built before 1991 into apartments across the city, not just in Lower Manhattan. The Emigrant Savings Bank building was completed in 1968.
The building is mostly empty, except for its ground-floor shops. T-Squared Social, a 20,000-square-foot dining and entertainment spot with entrances on East 42nd and East 43rd streets, is still open.
A Longtime Lending Partner
Joey Chilelli, a principal at Vanbarton, said the project will bring high-quality housing to Midtown at a time when apartments are in short supply.
He also praised Brookfield, which has been a key lending partner for Vanbarton’s office-to-residential conversions and other projects for over a decade.
Last year, Brookfield gave Vanbarton a $272.5 million loan to convert 160 Water St., a 24-story office building in the Financial District, into Pearl House, a 30-story residential tower with 588 units. Pearl House opened last year and was 95 percent leased within a year.
Vanbarton has been a leader in office-to-residential conversions for over 10 years, acting as both a developer and credit provider. Besides Pearl House and 6 E. 43rd St., Vanbarton has other projects in Manhattan and one in Seattle at 2601 Elliot Ave.
Other New York City projects include 77 Water St., 1011 First Ave., and the recently finished Quincy at 980 Avenue of the Americas.
The firm bought 1011 First Ave. in July from The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York for $103 million with a loan from Eldridge Real Estate Capital. The 20-story building, almost 400,000 square feet, used to be the Archdiocese headquarters since 1973.
Vanbarton plans to turn it into a 26-story building with 420 luxury apartments, including 105 affordable units. It will also have more than 50,000 square feet of amenities and nearly 8,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.
Vanbarton’s Growing NYC Strategy
Vanbarton is one of several developers focusing on converting offices into apartments in Manhattan. The city’s Conversion Accelerator program currently has over 80 proposals.
Developers are buying older office buildings at lower prices to meet the city’s housing shortage and modernize outdated offices.
A recent report from Cushman & Wakefield shows office-to-residential conversions are growing fast. Conversions that used to average less than 1.2 million square feet annually have jumped to 1.6 million in 2023, 3.3 million in 2024, and 4.1 million as of August 2025, with another 8.8 million square feet planned or underway.
The 6 E. 43rd St. building is near 235 E. 42nd St., the former Pfizer headquarters. Metro Loft and David Werner Real Estate Investments plan to convert it, along with 219 E. 42nd St., into around 1,600 apartments.
In May, the developers secured $720 million in construction financing from Madison Realty Capital. This will be the largest office-to-residential conversion loan in New York City and the biggest conversion project in the U.S. when finished.
Author Profile
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The writer is a real estate journalist specializing in all types of New York City properties, including luxury residences, commercial spaces, and homes.
He also writes humorous articles about real estate, investors, and realtors.
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