Walk down to the corner of Water and Pine in the Financial District, and you’ll see it. It’s a 31-story slab of glass and steel that basically defines the late-70s corporate aesthetic. For decades, 175 Water Street was synonymous with AIG. It was a hub of global finance, a place where high-stakes insurance deals were inked and where the 2008 financial crisis felt very, very real. But honestly, if you look at it today, you aren't seeing a relic. You’re seeing the front line of one of the biggest real estate gambles in New York City history.
It’s a massive office-to-residential conversion.
The building is currently being gutted and reimagined as "The Waterline," a luxury residential project that aims to bring nearly 300 high-end apartments to a neighborhood that used to go dark after 5:00 PM. It's a pivot. A huge one. With the way remote work gutted the demand for B-class office space, owners had a choice: adapt or die. The developers behind the 175 Water Street project, Metro Loft Management and Nathan Berman, chose to adapt. Berman is basically the king of office-to-residential in Lower Manhattan. He’s the guy who looked at 20 Broad Street and 180 Water Street and saw homes where others saw cubicles.
Why 175 Water Street is a massive deal right now
The sheer scale of this footprint is hard to wrap your head around. Built in 1983, the tower offers floor plates that are actually somewhat conducive to residential layouts, which isn't always the case with mid-century skyscrapers. Most old office buildings have these deep "dark cores." You know, the center of the floor where no sunlight reaches? That’s death for an apartment. Nobody wants a bedroom that feels like a storage closet.
At 175 Water Street, the architectural team had to figure out how to carve light into the center of the structure. They’re doing this by creating a massive interior courtyard—basically punching a hole through the middle of the building. It’s an expensive, complex engineering feat. It also reduces the total rentable square footage, but it makes the remaining space actually livable. Without that light, the building stays an empty office tower. With it, it becomes a multi-million dollar asset.
Finance guys used to run this block. Now, it’s mostly delivery bikes and parents with strollers. The shift is real.
💡 You might also like: AI Venture Funding News: What Most People Get Wrong About the 2026 Shift
The AIG legacy and the $270 million handoff
History matters here because it explains why the building looks the way it does. AIG owned this place for a long time. When the company was downsizing and restructuring after the Great Recession, the building became a bit of a white elephant. In 2019, it was sold for roughly $270 million to a group led by Vanbarton Group.
But then the pandemic hit.
The office market didn't just stumble; it fell off a cliff. Suddenly, trying to fill 600,000 square feet of office space in FiDi felt like trying to sell VHS tapes in a Netflix world. Vanbarton eventually pivoted. They realized the highest and best use wasn't desks—it was king-sized beds and Miele appliances. Metro Loft joined the fray because they have the "secret sauce" for these conversions. They know how to navigate the absolute nightmare that is the NYC building code regarding light and air requirements.
It’s not just about slapping some drywall up. You’re talking about replacing every single elevator. Re-wiring the entire stack for residential loads. Rerouting plumbing so you have 280 bathrooms instead of two massive communal ones per floor. It’s a logistical jigsaw puzzle.
What most people get wrong about these conversions
A lot of folks think converting an office building is "easy" or "cheap" compared to building new. It’s not. Kinda the opposite, actually. At 175 Water Street, you’re dealing with a steel frame that was never meant to hold residential weight distributions. You’re dealing with HVAC systems that were designed to cool a floor full of 200 people and 500 computers, not a family of three watching TV.
Converting a building like this usually costs about $400 to $500 per square foot. That’s before you even buy the building.
The value proposition is the location. You are steps from the Seaport. You’re right by the 2/3 and the J/Z trains. The views of the East River from the upper floors of 175 Water Street are, frankly, ridiculous. You can see the Brooklyn Bridge like it’s in your backyard. That’s what justifies the cost. People will pay $5,000 a month for a studio if it means they can see the bridge while they drink their morning coffee.
The "FiDi" identity crisis
FiDi is weird. It’s always been weird. It has these narrow, canyon-like streets that feel like 17th-century London, but then it has these monolithic towers from the 80s. For a long time, residents complained there were no grocery stores or "soul" in the neighborhood.
Projects like 175 Water Street are the solution to that.
When you add 300 apartments, you're adding 500 or 600 people who need eggs, dry cleaning, and a place to grab a drink on a Tuesday night. We’re seeing a total transformation of the Water Street corridor. It’s becoming a residential spine. What was once a ghost town on Saturdays is now buzzing. The 175 Water Street renovation is a key pillar in that shift. If this project fails, it’s a bad sign for the whole city’s "Office to Housing" moonshot. But if it succeeds? It’s a blueprint.
Technical hurdles: The glass and the core
One thing people don't talk about enough is the "skin" of the building. The glass on 175 Water Street is that classic reflective, dark-tinted stuff. It was great for privacy in a 1980s boardroom. It’s terrible for a modern apartment. Residents want floor-to-ceiling clear glass. They want "wellness" features.
The developers have to decide: do you strip the whole facade or just work with it? In this case, significant updates to the fenestration—that’s just a fancy word for windows—are part of the plan. They need windows that actually open. Most office towers have sealed windows because the HVAC handles everything. In a New York apartment, if you can't open a window, it’s technically not a legal bedroom in many cases.
Then there’s the plumbing. Imagine taking a building designed for two big pipes running up the middle and trying to spider-web those pipes to every single corner of the floor. It’s a nightmare. The "Waterline" project is handling this by creating specialized "wet columns."
The competition in the neighborhood
175 Water Street isn't acting in a vacuum. It’s competing with 160 Water Street (another massive conversion) and 25 Water Street, which is set to be the largest office-to-residential conversion in US history.
Why does this matter to you?
Because it means the amenities have to be insane to attract renters. We aren't just talking about a gym in the basement. We’re talking about:
- Rooftop pools with views of the Statue of Liberty.
- Co-working lounges (ironic, right?).
- Pet spas.
- Golf simulators.
- Private dining rooms.
If you’re looking at 175 Water Street, you aren't just looking at a place to sleep. You’re looking at a lifestyle club that happens to have apartments attached to it. That’s the only way to get people to move to the very tip of Manhattan.
The reality of the "Waterline" timeline
Construction in NYC is notoriously slow. You’ve got DOB permits, landmark issues (though 175 isn't landmarked, its neighbors are), and the simple reality of hauling tons of debris out of a narrow street. Most estimates suggest the residential units will hit the market in stages through 2025 and 2026.
If you’re a renter, this is great news. A massive influx of supply usually helps stabilize prices. Or at least, it gives you more leverage to ask for a "concession" (like a free month of rent).
If you’re an investor, you’re watching the cap rates. The Financial District is no longer the "cheap" alternative to Tribeca. It is becoming its own premium destination. 175 Water Street is a huge part of that valuation.
Actionable insights for those interested in 175 Water Street
If you are tracking this building—whether as a potential resident, a real estate nerd, or a local business owner—here is the deal.
Watch the "Seaport Effect." The value of 175 Water Street is directly tied to the success of the Pier 17 and Tin Building area. If the Seaport continues to thrive as a high-end dining and shopping destination, 175 Water Street becomes one of the most desirable addresses in the city.
Keep an eye on the floor plans. When listings eventually go live, look for the "courtyard" units. These are the ones facing the new interior hole punched through the building. They might be quieter than the street-facing units but could lack the big-city views. It’s a trade-off.
Check for 421-g tax abatements. Many of these conversions in Lower Manhattan benefited from older tax incentives. While 421-g is largely a thing of the past, the tax structure of these buildings affects the "common charges" or rent prices long-term.
Understand the noise. Water Street is a major artery. It’s loud. If you’re looking at a lower-floor unit at 175 Water Street, make sure the developer invested in high-end acoustic glazing. If they didn't, you'll be hearing sirens and delivery trucks at 3:00 AM like they’re in your living room.
Basically, 175 Water Street is the perfect example of NYC’s resilience. We don't just leave buildings to rot. We gut them, we flip them, and we turn yesterday’s office cubicles into tomorrow’s luxury lofts. It’s expensive, it’s loud, and it’s complicated—but that’s just how New York does business.
The transformation of this tower from an AIG fortress into a residential hub is almost complete. Keep your eyes on the scaffolding; when it comes down, the Financial District will officially have a new centerpiece.