Ground Lease Opens Door to a Plaza District Office-to-Residential Conversion

Family real estate firm TF Cornerstone has reportedly secured a ground lease from longtime owners, the Wallace family for 135 East 57th Street, which has alternate addresses of 700-712 Lexington Avenue and 132-134 East 58th Street. Details of the transaction that has yet to be posted on city records were not disclosed, but the deal will lead to another office-to-residential conversion offering a mix of 350 market-rate and affordable units. The 32-story, approximately 456,652-square-foot tower’s floor plates that range from 5,700 to 14,000 square feet make it a good candidate for a residential conversion, along with its 12-foot ceiling heights and floor-to-ceiling windows. The project is expected to be completed by 2028 and will take advantage of New York State’s new 467-m tax exemption program which helps offset the costs of construction; and New York City’s “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” passed in December will enable TF Cornerstone to complete the conversion as of right.”

Source:    https://commercialobserver.com/2025/08/tf-cornerstone-135-east-57th-street-ground-lease/