A once-standard Midtown East office tower is officially headed for a residential reboot. A joint venture between MetroLoft and Quantum Pacific has lined up roughly $170 million in construction financing to turn 767 Third Avenue into apartments, while keeping a hefty chunk of space for ground-floor retail and tenant amenities. The deal is being watched closely as an early test of whether office conversions can seriously chip away at Midtown’s stubborn vacancy problem.
Loan and lender
According to Commercial Observer, BHI, the U.S. arm of Bank Hapoalim, provided about $169.5 million of construction financing for the sponsors. The outlet reported that the loan follows earlier bridge financing from BHI for the acquisition and that bank executives framed the package as part of a longer-term push to back office-to-residential conversions in Manhattan.
Plans for the building
Developers have filed plans to convert the roughly 282,000-square-foot, 40-story tower into 337 apartments with about 68,000 square feet reserved for retail and amenities, including a fitness center, sports simulator, spa, coworking space and a rooftop lounge, according to The Real Deal. The property, built in 1981, had been used largely as office space before the current conversion push.
How the deal came together
MetroLoft and Quantum Pacific bought 767 Third Avenue in late 2024 for about $88 million, and MetroLoft secured a $55 million bridge loan from Bank Hapoalim to help fund that acquisition, Commercial Observer reported in January 2025. That earlier financing, combined with the sponsors’ existing conversion track record, helped set the stage for the larger construction loan.
Why this is happening now
The recent financing push and a flurry of filings are tied in part to the city’s "City of Yes" housing reforms and related incentives, which expanded conversion rules and broadened eligibility, according to a New York City Council committee transcript. City officials have also launched an Office Conversion Accelerator to coordinate approvals across agencies and help shepherd complex conversion projects through permitting.
Where this fits in a bigger push
Berman and Ofer have been anything but shy about conversions. Their partnership paid roughly $105 million for 101 Greenwich Street and landed a roughly $220 million construction loan from Apollo to convert that tower into more than 600 apartments, and they are also involved in a 411-unit conversion at 845 Third Avenue, The Real Deal reported. The growing pipeline suggests the partners are trying to leverage scale efficiencies and tap lender appetite across multiple Manhattan projects.
Next steps
With construction financing secured, the sponsors now pivot to final permits, detailed design work and predevelopment. Timelines will depend on how quickly agencies sign off and how market conditions evolve. For Midtown East residents and office landlords alike, the 767 Third Avenue revamp will serve as a closely watched test of whether office conversions can deliver substantial new housing without resorting to wholesale demolition.
