New York’s office to residential conversion program draws interest from 64 owners

New York City’s Office Conversion Accelerator Program has been contacted by the owners of 64 commercial buildings interested in converting their properties to residential use.

The program provides a single point of contact within city government to help speed adaptive reuse projects that provide 50 or more housing units. New York wants to create up to 20,000 apartments from commercial buildings over the next decade to help address a housing shortage.

The accelerator program consists of representatives from the mayor’s administration, the Department of City Planning, the Department of Buildings, the Department of Housing Preservation & Development, the Board of Standards & Appeals, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Representatives from these agencies analyze the feasibility of proposed conversion projects and help with securing permits.

Since last summer when the program was launched, four office buildings involved with the accelerator program have converted to residential units or begun construction, according to published reports. The largest adaptive reuse project underway in Manhattan is at the former home of the New York Daily News. That project will create 1,300 apartments.

The U.S. is ill-prepared to provide adequate housing for the growing ranks of older people, according to a report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Over the next decade, the U.S. population older than 75 will increase by 45%, growing from 17 million to nearly 25 million, with many expected to struggle financially.

Yale University breaks ground on the nation's largest Living Building student housing complex

University Buildings | Dec 8, 2023

Yale University breaks ground on nation's largest Living Building student housing complex

A groundbreaking on Oct. 11 kicked off a project aiming to construct the largest Living Building Challenge-certified residence on a university campus. The Living Village, a 45,000 sf home for Yale University Divinity School graduate students, “will make an ecological statement about the need to build in harmony with the natural world while training students to become ‘apostles of the environment’,” according to Bruner/Cott, which is leading the design team that includes Höweler + Yoon Architecture and Andropogon Associates.

Almost a million apartment units are currently under construction in the U.S., says Apartment List.

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2024 will be the strongest year for new apartment construction in decades, says Apartment List's chief economist.

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New York City aims to spur construction of more accessory dwelling units (ADUs)

To address a serious housing shortage, New York City is trying to get more homeowners to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The city recently unveiled a program that offers owners of single-family homes up to nearly $400,000 to construct an apartment on their property.