Northwind Group has provided a $231 million construction loan for the conversion of 675 Third Avenue, a Midtown East office tower, into residential use, according to Commercial Observer's reporting on the deal.
The borrower is a venture tied to developer David Werner and MetroLoft, the firm that has built a specialty around converting aging Manhattan office towers to apartments under the city's office-to-residential conversion rules. This is a construction loan, not a bridge or acquisition loan — the money is earmarked to fund the physical conversion work itself, which typically means gutting floor plates, re-running mechanical and plumbing risers, and adding the light and air required for residential certificates of occupancy.
For trade contractors, a financed conversion of this size means a real construction schedule is about to start, not just a deal closing: office-to-residential work at this scale draws plumbing, HVAC, electrical and drywall crews in sequence over many months, distinct from new-build work because so much of it happens inside an occupied structural shell.
The loan amount and the parties come from Commercial Observer's report; no completion date or general contractor has been named publicly yet. A reader tracking MetroLoft's pipeline should watch for the GC award and permit filings at the address, which would mark the next concrete milestone after financing.