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Office-to-residential conversions face stop-work orders after inspections
In New York City, officials issued stop-work orders to three additional conversion projects after inspections found safety risks following the Pfizer headquarters incident.
In the weeks after the country’s largest office-to-residential conversion project was found at risk of collapse, officials have intensified scrutiny of adaptive reuse projects that surged in popularity after the pandemic, according to Bisnow.
New York City issued stop-work orders for three other conversion buildings after an inspection blitz, while other major conversion hubs said they have not increased scrutiny. In Washington, D.C., building officials said they still believe current systems are appropriate for the region’s building types and the growing conversion pipeline, adding that the D.C. metropolitan area has more conversions than any market outside New York.
Bisnow reports that in the District of Columbia, 1,900 apartments have been created out of former office buildings, with another 1,800 under construction, as Washington’s building director said the agency continues to assess and improve its approach over time.
The article points to Midtown Manhattan as a flashpoint. It notes that during MetroLoft Management’s conversion of Pfizer’s former headquarters, two steel columns buckled beneath a new addition, leading to an evacuation and closures around the site before temporary stabilization measures reopened nearby streets, while the city continues investigating the cause.