Vanbarton Plans Office-to-Residential Conversion of NY Archdiocese Headquarters

Vanbarton Group plans to transform the Archdiocese of New York’s headquarters building into rental housing, Bloomberg News reported Thursday. The developer has agreed to purchase the property at 1011 First Ave. in Manhattan from the archdiocese for more than $100 million, according to sources who asked not to be named. 

CBRE vice chairman Doug Middleton represented the archdiocese, according to Bloomberg. The deal follows Vanbarton’s agreement to buy a Lower Manhattan office building, at 77 Water St., also with plans to convert it to apartments. 

Earlier this year, the Catholic archdiocese signed a lease to consolidate its offices at the Feil Organization’s 488 Madison Ave., closer to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Its headquarters has been located for decades at 1011 First Ave., a 20-story tower between 55th and 56th streets, but it has considered selling the property since at least 2017.  

Office-to-residential conversions have been picking up in Manhattan, as older buildings have struggled to attract tenants since the pandemic. Deals so far have been concentrated downtown, where many office properties have faced gaping vacancies as the financial industry shifted from Wall Street to Midtown.