Times Square Office Tower Will Be Converted Into 1,250 Apartments

NEW YORK CITY — Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday announced plans for a office-to-housing conversion at 5 Times Square transforming underused office space into a mixed-use development with up to 1,250 apartments.

The project was made possible after Hochul changed 60-year-old state laws and lifted the 12 Floor Area Ratio (FAR) cap on residential development in the city. The project at 5 Times Square will also include 313 permanently affordable homes for New Yorkers earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income, according to officials.

In addition, The Empire State Development (ESD) Board of Directors voted on Thursday to enable the massive office-to-housing conversion at 5 Times Square.

“We took bold action to unlock major office-to-housing conversions in New York City, and transforming 5 Times Square from underused offices into 1,250 new homes — including over 300 permanently affordable apartments — is a prime example of how we’re getting it done,” Hochul said. “As I’ve made clear, the only way to address our housing crisis is to build more of the homes New Yorkers need — and I’ll never stop working to make that a reality.”

Five Times Square will repurpose nearly 1 million square feet of office space while preserving more than 37,000 square feet of retail space. There will be 1,050 studio and 200 one-bedroom apartments — with equal access to building amenities for all residents.

The project is expected to create approximately 1,400 construction jobs and 830 permanent direct and indirect jobs.

“Confronting a decades-long housing crisis requires creating new housing in every neighborhood at an accelerated pace — even here at the ‘Crossroad of the World’ in Times Square. The transformation of 5 Times Square from an underutilized office building into 1,250 new homes capitalizes on hard-fought Adams and Hochul administration victories while fulfilling my plan to build 100,000 new homes in Manhattan over the next decade," Adams said in a statement.