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Spotlight Content
Posted: December 23, 2025
2025 Year in Review: Tallal Bhutta, BDB Construction Enterprise
Founder & CEO
BDB Construction Enterprise
What transaction, project, or key moment best reflected the direction of the New York CRE market this year? It has been an amazing year in terms of record-breaking conversions, with such office-to-residential projects as 25 Water St. completed and the Pfizer midtown building announced. Our own trophy project is BDB Construction’s ongoing conversion of what was previously the tallest Holiday Inn and is now FOUND Study FiDi, officially the world’s tallest student residence. These projects take creativity and show the resiliency of our regional market to cyclical market issues. We have led multiple hotel-to-dorm projects in Manhattan and nationally, and these should continue.
What accomplishment, milestone, project or transaction stood out for you or your firm in 2025? Being part of creating the tallest student accommodation in the world has made BDB Construction Enterprise very busy and also proud. Located at 99 Washington St., the former 492-key hotel has opened its first phase as an off-campus university residence, now housing students and interns in a highly innovative, 650-bed dormitory complex. It is cited by CTBUH as a record-setting structure: 50 stories and 485 ft. tall, the tallest student dorms in the world offer amazing skyline views, when complete in 2026.
What emerging trends or shifts will shape opportunities for you, your firm, or market sector in 2026? We’re closely watching the budding nationwide reimagining of defunct hotels as new, low-cost student housing to serve nearby colleges. This efficient approach is helping to solve the student housing crisis. Nationally, student housing remains an active real estate market with other sectors stalling. Among the biggest deals in student housing, Morgan Stanley and Global Student Accommodation bought a $1B dorm portfolio, and big projects include the 696-unit Chapter SLC near University of Utah. Our team at BDB Construction Enterprise is busy, completing student residences from Berkeley to Brown.
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