2022 BREAK EVEN STILL BLOCKED Evidence dated December 22, 2022, May 6, 2024 and July 17, 2025
Later records settle the window and tax questions, not the December 2022 price ceiling.
The December 22, 2022 financing announcement (W1) proposed about 1,300 apartments. The May 6, 2024 Board decision (W2) gave limited relief for east-facing windows, which affected bedrooms and ventilation, not the number of dwelling units. The July 17, 2025 city report (W3) describes a tax program enacted later and applied retroactively. None of it supplies the private budget, measured unit plan, cash flow or debt terms, so the 2022 break even purchase price stays not computed.
Historical teaching case. Not investment or legal advice.
Cited later findings
Each figure keeps its own source and date. Nothing dated after December 22, 2022 is treated as known on that date.
Proposed in 2022
about 1,300 apartments
Rounded issuer plan in the financing announcement. Not a permit count.
Later represented total
1,320 dwelling units
Applicant representation in the Board decision. The case study also reports 1,320 total. Different date and precision from the 2022 plan.
East-facing bedrooms discussed
about 100 bedrooms
Rooms that could not count as bedrooms without relief. These are bedrooms, not apartments, and the dwelling unit count is unchanged.
Board relief actually granted
May 6, 2024
Limited modification: east-facing windows may face Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza, a mapped city park, instead of a street, court or yard. Conditions: window-wall attenuation of at least 33 dBA, alternate ventilation for the affected part, and a certificate of occupancy showing the conditions within four years.
Retroactive tax program
enacted May 2024
Benefits reach projects started since January 2023. Rules require 25% income-restricted apartments; the case study reports 330 income-restricted homes at 25 Water Street.
Restricted share, recomputed
330 restricted apartments divided by the 1,320 conversion total, both from the July 17, 2025 report. Matches the 25% program rule.
Retrospective purchase figure
about $251 million
Reported on July 17, 2025 for an acquisition in December 2022. The report also cites a deed recorded December 28, 2022 at $240 per gross sq ft. A price paid after the fact is not a break even ceiling and was not in the December 22, 2022 announcement.
Before versus after
| Question | Known on December 22, 2022 | Later record | Source and date | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment count | About 1,300 proposed, rounded issuer plan | 1,320 dwelling units represented; 1,320 total in the case study | W2, W3; May 6, 2024 and July 17, 2025 | Later figure is more precise, not a gain or loss to compute |
| East-facing windows | Light and air described on three sides; no window schedule | Objection October 17, 2023; relief granted May 6, 2024 | W2; May 6, 2024 | A code question about rooms, unknown in 2022 |
| Bedrooms at issue | Not quantified | About 100 bedrooms, not apartments | W2; May 6, 2024 | Unit count unaffected per the applicant |
| Tax program | None in force for this use | 467-m enacted May 2024, retroactive to January 2023 | W3; July 17, 2025 | Cannot enter a 2022 tax input |
| Income-restricted homes | Not known | 330 of 1,320, or 25.0% | W3; July 17, 2025 | Program rule, later |
| Purchase price | Not published; the loan is not a price | About $251 million, reported in hindsight | W3; July 17, 2025 | Price paid, not a ceiling |
| Break even purchase price | Not computed, blocked | Still not computed, blocked | W1, W2, W3; December 22, 2022 to July 17, 2025 | Inputs still missing |
Switch the evidence date
Choose a date to read the exact supplied excerpt and the interpretation it supports. Without scripts, all three dates are listed below in order.
Reading on December 22, 2022: about 1,300 apartments proposed, no window objection known, no tax program in force, break even blocked.
Reading on May 6, 2024: the window issue concerned about 100 bedrooms, not apartments; relief was limited and conditioned; break even still blocked.
Reading on July 17, 2025: a later tax program applies retroactively with 330 income-restricted homes, and a purchase figure appears in hindsight; break even still blocked.
As of December 22, 2022: the financing announcement
Upon redevelopment, the property will be refitted to feature approximately 1,300 residential units ranging from studios to four-bedrooms.
Built in 1969, 25 Water Street enjoys uninterrupted light and air on three sides, offering broad views of lower Manhattan and New York Harbor from all floors.
Interpretation then: a rounded plan of about 1,300 apartments and a general claim of light on three sides. No window schedule, no code objection, no tax program and no purchase price were public. Break even purchase price: not computed, blocked. Source W1.
As of May 6, 2024: the Board decision
the proposed residential building could contain 1,320 dwelling units
The loss of the approximately 100 bedrooms in the proposed conversion of 25 Water Street creates a problem
the requested MDL waiver would not impact the building's exterior, the floor area, the bulk, the number of dwelling units, or the size and configuration of the east-facing windows.
Interpretation now: the east-facing problem was whether about 100 rooms could count as bedrooms, with lower rents and slower lease up at stake. The waiver changed bedroom counting and ventilation conditions, not the number of dwelling units. The Board granted only this window modification, conditioned on 33 dBA attenuation, alternate ventilation and a certificate of occupancy within four years. Break even: still not computed. Source W2.
As of July 17, 2025: the city report
Finally, it should be noted that tax benefits are available retroactively to projects that started since January 2023.
In its 25 Water Street case study it reports 330 income-restricted apartments, alongside the conversion's 1,320 total.
The report's 25 Water Street case study says an approximately $251 million December 2022 acquisition.
Interpretation now: the program was enacted in May 2024 and reached back to projects started since January 2023, with 330 of 1,320 apartments, or 25.0%, income restricted. The about $251 million acquisition is a hindsight figure. Neither changes what was knowable on December 22, 2022. Break even: still not computed. Source W3.
Timeline
- Financing announcement: about 1,300 apartments proposed
- Sale deed recorded, as reported in 2025
- Start of the later retroactive 467-m eligibility window
- Buildings Department objection to east-facing windows
- 467-m program enacted (day not stated in the supplied file)
- Board grants limited window relief on conditions
- Comptroller report: 330 of 1,320 apartments income restricted
Month only where the supplied file gives no day. Events after December 22, 2022 were not known on that date.
Housing and bedrooms are different measures
Dwelling units across dates
East-facing bedrooms at issue
about 100 bedrooms (W2, May 6, 2024), one mark per bedroom:
Citywide model inputs, not this project
The July 17, 2025 report models general Manhattan conversions at $500 per gross sq ft conversion cost and 75% rentable to gross efficiency (W3). These are stylized citywide inputs: not 25 Water Street bids, not its measured plan, and not knowledge available on December 22, 2022. They are not used in any break even here.
2022 break even, still unsolved
P_max = NSP + LUC minus (HC + SC + CT + CI + TX + OX)
- NSP: Net sale proceeds at exit, after selling costs. Value: not provided.
- LUC: Net lease up cash before exit. Value: not provided.
- HC: Hard construction costs. Value: not provided.
- SC: Soft costs. Value: not provided.
- CT: Contingency. Value: not provided.
- CI: Construction interest and financing fees over the draw schedule. Value: not provided.
- TX: Real estate taxes and insurance while carrying the asset. Value: not provided.
- OX: Other project and carrying costs, including operating deficit. Value: not provided.
Break even purchase price as of December 22, 2022: not computed. Decision status: blocked. Still unavailable after the reveal:
- Private hard, soft and contingency budget
- Measured unit plan and full test fit
- Rents, operating cash flow, lease up and exit
- Loan interest, fees, draws and maturity
The later purchase figure is a price paid, not a ceiling. The arranged loan is financing, not a term. The citywide model inputs are not project inputs.
Sources
- Newmark 25 Water Street financing release, source W1, dated December 22, 2022.
- NYC Board of Standards and Appeals 2023-69-A, source W2, dated May 6, 2024.
- NYC Comptroller office-to-residential conversion report, source W3, dated July 17, 2025.