25 Water Street

25 Water Street
25 Water Street in 2023, with 55 Water Street (left) and 125 Broad Street (right) in the background
Map
Former names4 New York Plaza
General information
StatusClosed for redevelopment
Type
  • Office (1969–2022)
  • Residential (planned)
Architectural styleBrutalism
LocationNew York City, New York, United States
Coordinates40°42′10″N 74°00′40″W / 40.70278°N 74.01111°W / 40.70278; -74.01111
Construction started1967
Completed1969
OwnerGFP Real Estate and Metroloft
Technical details
Floor count
  • 22 (1969–2022)
  • 32 (planned)
Floor area1.1 million square feet (as of 2011)[1]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Carson, Lundin & Shaw

25 Water Street, also known as 4 New York Plaza, is a building at Water Street and Broad Street the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, U.S. It directly adjoins both 125 Broad Street to the south, which is connected, and the Vietnam Veterans Plaza to the east. The building was completed in 1969 and operated as an office building from 1969 to 2022. As of 2023 it is being redeveloped into a residential building that is planned to have over 1,300 apartments, which would make it the largest office-to-residential property conversion in the United States.

History

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Office use

[edit]

Originally known as 4 New York Plaza, the building began construction in 1967 and was completed in 1969. It was built in a Brutalist style and was designed by the architecture firm Carson, Lundin & Shaw.[2][1][3] Construction proceeded remarkably quickly, with the first tenants moving in only 26 months from the beginning of design.[4] The building included among its first tenants the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company[5] and Oppenheimer & Co.[6] The building was designed as an operations center that would process the banking and financial activities of Manufacturers Hanover, such as collecting and recording checks.[4] To make the air-conditioning of 1960s mainframe computers more efficient, the building had relatively few, and narrow, windows from the 3rd to 15th floors. More windows were included on the 2nd floor, intended for Manufacturers Hanover staff, and the top seven floors, intended to be leased out. The reddish-brown brick exterior was chosen to match the style of historic buildings from the Dutch era of New Amsterdam, such as the Stadt Huys Site.[4] The building won an architectural award in the era. However, the building's narrow windows were generally criticized after the building no longer hosted a data center.[7][8] Many of the historic brick buildings the exterior was designed to blend in with were demolished in the decade following construction.[3]

After Manufacturers Hanover merged with Chemical Bank in 1992, facilities of the combined bank were housed in 4 New York Plaza.[9] JPMorgan Chase owned the building by the 1990s, after it acquired Chemical Bank. By 2009, JPMorgan Chase had placed 4 New York Plaza and several other buildings for sale in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 financial crisis.[10] The bank sold the property to Capstone Equities and Harbor Group in December 2009 for US$108.9 million.[11][12] The buyers agreed to lease back space in the building they were already using, becoming a major tenant of the building instead.[13] The New York Daily News newspaper leased space at 4 New York Plaza in 2010[14] and moved there in June 2011.[15] Harbor Group sold the building in 2012 to HSBC Alternative Investments and Edge Fund Advisors for $270 million.[16][17]

Flooding caused by Superstorm Sandy was very damaging to Lower Manhattan in 2012, with water damage to mechanical and electrical systems that often resided in basements. Like other buildings on Water Street, 4 New York Plaza was significantly affected by the flooding;[18][1] the biggest tenants, JPMorgan and the New York Daily News, did not return to the building until late 2013.[19] Due to financial troubles resulting from the decline of newspapers and the coronavirus pandemic, the Daily News closed their newsroom, which was in the building, in 2020.[20] JPMorgan also sought to cut back usage in 2021, attempting to sublet space no longer needed due to the rise of hybrid work.[13][21]

Residential conversion

[edit]

In general, office rents in New York collapsed after the coronavirus pandemic, with an office space vacancy rate of 17–18% pushing down rents.[22] Jeffrey Gural and Metro Loft Management were looking to buy the building by mid-2022.[23] In December 2022, Edge Funds and HSBC Alternative Investments sold the property. The new owners—GFP Real Estate and Metroloft, with the cooperation of Rockwood Capital—wished to convert the building to residential use.[24][25]

The new owners renamed the property from "4 New York Plaza" to "25 Water Street", and intended to redevelop the building. Changes in local regulations helped; the mayoral administration of Eric Adams encouraged projects to build more housing, and rolled out zoning changes and tax breaks designed to ease such conversions.[7] The new owners secured a loan of $536 million to support the redevelopment, with the company CetraRuddy responsible for the architecture. Plans were made to add 10 more floors to the existing 22, and to replace the red-brown brick exterior of the structure, or repaint it a light beige. The plan included about 1,300 apartments for the redeveloped building, which would make it the largest office-to-residential conversion in the country. Preparatory work began in mid-2023.[26][8]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 4 New York Plaza.
  • View of the top floor during redevelopment in 2023
    View of the top floor during redevelopment in 2023
  • View of the top floor as workers demolish parts of the old structure
    View of the top floor as workers demolish parts of the old structure

References

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  1. ^ a b c "4 New York Plaza Renovation". Hines. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "Earl H. Lundin, 74, Architect, Dead". The New York Times. March 4, 1976. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Tauranac, John (1979). Essential New York : A Guide to the History and Architecture of Manhattan's Important Buildings, Parks, and Bridges. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 226–227. ISBN 0-03-042621-9.
  4. ^ a b c Dixon, John Morris (January–February 1970). "Bulwark In Lower Manhattan" (PDF). Architectural Forum. Vol. 132, no. 1. pp. 62–67. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "News of Realty: Broad St. Lease; American Express Will Pay $20-Million in Rents". The New York Times. May 23, 1968. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  6. ^ "News of Realty: $3-million Lease: Oppenheimer Takes a Full Floor in Lower Manhattan". The New York Times. August 8, 1968. p. 53. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 118430843.
  7. ^ a b Riccardi, Gabriela (May 23, 2023). "The biggest office-to-residential conversion project in the US is underway". Quartz. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Brand, David (April 13, 2023). "The country's biggest office-to-apartment conversion is underway inside the old Daily News office". Gothamist. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  9. ^ Quint, Michael (June 22, 1992). "Manufacturers Hanover Fades Out". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  10. ^ Lewis, Christina S. N.; Sidel, Robin (August 13, 2009). "Feeling Roomy, J.P. Morgan Shops Its Space". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  11. ^ "Chase to sell 4 New York Plaza at $99/psf". The Real Deal. December 17, 2009. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "JPMorgan to sell 4 New York Plaza-paper". Reuters. December 17, 2009. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Wong, Natalie; Davis, Michelle F. (March 2, 2021). "JPMorgan Seeks to Reduce Office Space in Two Manhattan Towers". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  14. ^ "Daily News moving to FiDi". The Real Deal. July 19, 2010. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  15. ^ "Inside the New York Daily News newsroom through the years". New York Daily News. June 9, 2017. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023. We've moved again! The newsroom now resides at 4 New York Plaza, the paper's home since June 2011. While it may look new, one reminder of the Daily News' history remains - the old newsroom clock! The clock's been ticking away toward deadline since 1929.
  16. ^ Rosen, Daniel Edward (May 23, 2012). "HSBC Buys 4 New York Plaza, Home of The NY Daily News". Commercial Observer. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  17. ^ "HSBC partnership buys 4 New York Plaza for $270M". The Real Deal. May 23, 2012. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  18. ^ Kleinfield, N. R. (November 5, 2012). "Future Is in Limbo for the Damaged Buildings Close to the Water's Edge". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  19. ^ Pearson, Erica (October 26, 2013). "Hurricane Sandy, one year later: Floods recede from Lower Manhattan, people trickle back in". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  20. ^ Tracy, Marc (August 12, 2020). "The Daily News Is Now a Newspaper Without a Newsroom". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  21. ^ Elstein, Aaron (April 5, 2023). "JPMorgan shrinks New York footprint by 22% as office exodus continues". Crain's New York Business. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  22. ^ "Despite calling for return, financial titans shed NYC office space". The Real Deal. March 2, 2022. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  23. ^ Weiss, Lois (June 13, 2022). "Gural, Metro Loft In Contract for 25 Water Street". The Real Deal. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  24. ^ Wong, Natalie (December 12, 2022). "Goldman's Former Broad Street Tower Eyed for Housing Conversion". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  25. ^ Rogers, Jack (November 2, 2022). "Partners Plan to Convert 25 Water Street to Apartments". GlobeSt. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  26. ^ Young, Michael (July 11, 2023). "25 Water Street Readies For 1,300-Unit Residential Conversion In Financial District, Manhattan". New York YIMBY. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.


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