Key facts
- The former Pfizer headquarters conversion, the city's largest, has resumed after floor repairs.
- Two columns buckled on the 21st floor, causing floors to drop about six inches.
- The project includes approximately 1,600 units, with 400 designated as affordable and rent-stabilized.
- The structural engineer cited missing steel reinforcement as the cause.
- Inspections of 180 sites citywide found 65 violations across 38 locations.
- A separate conversion project in Brooklyn secured a $208 million loan.
Crews have completed repairs on the former Pfizer headquarters, the largest office-to-apartment conversion in New York City history, after a structural failure in July forced evacuations and raised nationwide concerns about adaptive reuse of older office buildings. Two columns buckled on the 21st floor, causing floors to drop about six inches, but the project's structural engineer attributed the issue to missing steel reinforcement rather than design flaws. New York City Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani confirmed the building's stability and the completion of a plan to jack up the affected floors. The project, led by MetroLoft and David Werner Real Estate Investments, will add approximately 1,600 units, including 400 affordable and rent-stabilized apartments. Despite the incident, other conversion projects are moving forward, with one in Brooklyn securing a $208 million loan for a 239-unit development.