The Empire State Development board of directors has approved an amendment to the 42nd Street Development General Project Plan to enable conversion of underutilized office space at 5 Times Square into mixed-use housing that will create 1,250 new homes, including 313 affordable units. The property was originally constructed in 2002 as headquarters for Ernst & Young, which departed the building in 2022.

The project will participate in the Adams administration’s Office Conversion Accelerator and is made feasible by policy changes including the removal of the 12 “floor-to-area ratio” (FAR) residential cap, which had previously limited housing density in New York City, as well as the new 467-m tax incentive program, which incentives the conversion of office space into housing.

“5 Times Square is a game-changer for Times Square and Midtown, paving the way for the future of urban growth,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce Adolfo Carrión, Jr. “By converting underutilized office space into over a thousand new homes, including hundreds of affordable units, we’re reimagining central business districts as vibrant, mixed-use communities that foster both residential life and economic opportunity.”