Lexin Capital Files Plans to Convert 229 West 28th Street Into 270 Apartments

There’s more housing coming to Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. 

Lexin Capital has filed plans to convert its office and retail building at 229 West 28th Street into a residential building with 270 units, city records show. 

The firm acquired the Chelsea property in 2014 and refinanced its acquisition debt with a roughly $73 million loan from Aareal Bank in 2016. Lexin considered selling the building in 2020, and was later hit with a maturity default in 2022 as a result of sluggish leasing activity. The company eventually reacquired the nonperforming debt on the office property in January 2024, as Commercial Observer previously reported. 

Now, it appears Lexin intends to convert and expand the building from a 12-story, 156,500-square-foot commercial property into a 35-story, more than 207,000-square-foot residential tower. If approved, the building would include 203,259 square feet of residential space and 3,941 square feet of commercial space.

The conversion plans — first reported  by PincusCo — were filed by Metin Negrin, owner and president of Lexin Capital, on Dec. 24. 

“We are very excited to continue the next stage for this property we’ve owned for more than a decade,” Negrin told CO. “It started its life as a printing factory in the 1920s and later converted to office use in the 1990s. Its next chapter will be a residential building, which shows the adaptability of this great property.”

There are few details of the conversion plans, but Negrin’s application with the New York City Department of Buildings notes a plumbing installation consistent with residential needs, “general wiring for a nightclub” on the first floor, and “modernized” passenger elevators. 

Also known as the Caxton Building, 229 West 28th Street is between Seventh and Eighth avenues. Current office tenants include health tech company Noom and wedding photographer Edward Dye.

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.