The building’s future as housing began to take shape this week when the Brodsky Organization, a residential developer, bought a stake in the 22-story, triangular-shaped tower on Fifth Avenue. Brodsky will lead the conversion, carving out units — either for sale as condominiums or as rentals — from the notoriously awkward space. The exact layout and the number of new residences have not been determined.
The project will take about three years to complete once plans finally clear the lengthy approval process. Developers told the New York Times they are considering multiple schemes but have yet to determine the total number of residential units the conversion will create.
The saga began with a botched auction sale in March and has implications as the Flatiron, which was one of New York’s first skyscrapers, is now the most historically significant structure included in the city’s push to create 40,000 housing units out of its existing office stock by the end of the decade.