The Feil Organization is plowing ahead with a long-planned luxury office-to-resi conversion on Billionaires’ Row.
Feil and its joint venture partners BLDG and the Nakash Family are starting construction this Spring on the conversion of the 14-story, 85,000-square-foot office building at 140 West 57th Street into 47 luxury condos, the developer announced. Deutsche Bank provided a $65 million construction loan for the project.
The units — from studio to three bedroom — will range from about 500 to 1,800 square feet. Amenities will include a landscaped rooftop lounge and fitness center. The conversion of the 1908 building, designed by MdeAS Architects, will preserve the neo-Gothic facade and include upgrades to the lobby, entry, hallways and elevators..
Construction is expected to be completed in late 2026. Corcoran Sunshine will lead sales and marketing for the project. A spokesperson for the developer declined to provide pricing prior to the sales launch.
Progress has been slow on the project, hampered by zoning regulations and a lawsuit.
In 2009, Feil bought the building from Harry Macklowe for $59 million. It then hired Goldstein Hill & West in 2015 to study the feasibility of a residential conversion. The architecture firm found that about 11,000 square feet of residential space could be added for a total of roughly 80,000 square feet, according to Feil. As a result, the building could be converted into 20 residential units with a top-floor duplex apartment.
Feil stopped renewing office leases in early 2016 and began clearing space for a conversion. It found out, however, that a preexisting zoning lot development agreement limited the building’s floor area, hampering any new construction. Feil sued Goldstein Hill & West for $12.6 million for failing to acknowledge the ZLDA, which is in the public record.
In 2018, Feil put the vacant office building on the market, pitching it as a potential residential conversion or boutique office renovation. By 2020, Feil was back to the drawing board, this time with MdeAs leading the design. A proposal at the time called for the renovation of the property, seemingly keeping it as office space, according to YIMBY.
The Beaufort opened as studios and residences for artists and received landmark designation at the turn of the century. It was later converted to rentals, then offices. Located on the ritzy 57th Street corridor, among some of the world’s tallest and priciest residential towers, Brian Feil called it “the ideal location for a residential conversion.”
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