Why more architects are becoming real estate developers

More architects are putting on the developer hat. They’re finding they have more control, more profit, and more interesting work by doing it all.

The six-unit loft conversion underway at 62 Reade Street in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood has the dual benefit of good bones and a good backstory. A combination of two historically landmarked 19th century Italianate structures, it was previously owned by a couple who ran a clock factory on its lower floors while living in a residence they’d created by tearing down the walls between the two buildings’ top floors. It’s the kind of building that would be irresistible to a design-centric architect as well as a marketing-savvy developer.