Browsing: Building Repositioning

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey recently launched a program to help cities across the state identify underused office buildings that are best suited for residential conversions.

Restoring a historic building can present a unique set of challenges. Design requirements, existing conditions, and entitlements can all complicate the process. An experienced team is key to the success of the project. Pavarini McGovern and our sister companies in the STO Building Group have been fortunate to work on several historic NYC buildings, including Lever House, MetLife Building, 100 Vandam, the Barbizon Hotel, and the Irish Arts Center, to name only a few.

Built in 1914, the Lord & Taylor Building in Manhattan served as the retail giant’s flagship store for over a century and helped shape the city’s identity, including introducing Fifth Avenue as a premier shopping destination. In March 2020, Amazon purchased this landmark, transforming the department store (along with the neighboring Dreicer Building), into a modern, dynamic workplace for more than 2,000 employees. This new tech hub is known as “Hank.”

When times are tough, everyone needs a little help. And times have indeed been tough on owners of commercial real estate for the past few years. With COVID changing how and where people work, the demand for office space has declined, leaving most cities with an oversupply of commercial office buildings.

With more than 25% of the country’s office stock projected to become obsolete by 2030, how is an international commercial hub like New York City adapting? Join STOBG’s SVP of Building Repositioning, Brooks McDaniel as he discusses the city’s trend towards residential conversion with commercial design leader and managing partner at MdeAS, Dan Shannon.

The office market has slowed but the demand for more urban housing only continues to rise. A possible solution? Converting office to residential. In a recent episode of STO Building Group’s Building Conversations podcast, Brooks McDaniel, STOBG’s senior vice president of building repositioning, speaks with Dan Shannon, commercial design leader and managing partner at architecture firm MdeAS, about the wave of office to residential conversions in New York City. Here is an excerpt of their conversation.

With thousands of years of activity, the streets of London, England are lined with historic buildings that have marked the skyline for decades—sometimes centuries. A stroll down these same streets with the Structure Tone team would showcase how many buildings today are currently being repositioned—that is, sensitively and respectfully transformed into properties that are more appealing to the modern tenant and environmentally sustainable.

When breathing new life into an underperforming building through a repositioning program, the addition of new area in the form of an overbuild can transform the building into a more substantial asset with a much healthier proforma. An overbuild requires careful study to determine the viability of this strategy.

Buildings are responsible for a significant portion of global carbon emissions. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the building sector is responsible for around 40% of total global energy consumption and about 28% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the carbon emissions of the building sector is an important step in addressing climate change.

When it comes to building repositioning, what motivates developers to build green? Tune in as Curtis Brown, STOBG’s VP of Business Development explores that topic from all angles—from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors to new emissions regulations—with Brian Geller, Senior Sustainability Manager at The Durst Organization, Brooks McDaniel, SVP of Building Repositioning at STO Building Group, and Jennifer Taranto, VP of Sustainability at STO Building Group.