| Factor |
Office-to-Residential |
Hotel-to-Residential |
Industrial-to-Residential |
| Physical starting point |
Large open floor plates; needs major bathroom/kitchen addition |
Already has individual rooms, bathrooms, and plumbing per floor |
High ceilings, wide spans; major MEP overhaul required |
| Conversion complexity |
Moderate to high — plumbing and kitchen rough-in is the major cost driver |
Lower — existing room layout translates to residential units more naturally |
High — major structural, mechanical, and code compliance work |
| Relative cost |
Moderate; varies widely by building condition and floor plate |
Often lower than office conversion — head start on plumbing layout |
Often the most expensive — full MEP replacement plus code upgrades |
| Zoning eligibility |
Broadly expanded under City of Yes; 467-m incentive available |
Generally permitted in C and some M1 districts; check specific district |
Requires M1 district or rezoning; City of Yes opened some M1 pathways |
| 467-m eligibility |
Yes — if building meets eligibility criteria |
Generally no — 467-m targets commercial office buildings |
Generally no — industrial is not an office use |
| Unit size outcome |
Typically larger units — floor plate efficiency favors 1BR and 2BR |
Typically smaller studios and 1BRs — room dimensions set by prior hotel layout |
Can produce very large loft-style units; very flexible but expensive to build |
| NYC market activity |
Very active post-2020; highest volume of in-progress projects |
Active post-COVID as hotels struggled; slowing as hotel market recovered |
Less common; most active in Brooklyn and LIC where M1 zoning exists |
Bottom line: Hotel-to-residential conversions are often the fastest and least expensive because the plumbing infrastructure already exists per room. Office-to-residential conversions are the largest market segment and the target of 467-m. Industrial-to-residential is the most expensive and zoning-constrained of the three.
