San Francisco voters recently approved a ballot measure to offer tax breaks to developers who convert commercial buildings to residential use.
The tax break applies to conversions of up to 5 million sf of commercial space through 2030. San Francisco’s office vacancy rate hit a record 36% in December, and it is expected to increase this year.
The initiative is intended to help transform the city’s downtown from a 9-to-5 business district to a 24-hour mixed-use neighborhood. San Francisco’s downtown has a higher-than-average stock of commercial buildings that are suitable for residential conversions. According to a report by Gensler, 40% of the city’s downtown buildings evaluated would be suitable for conversion. That compares to about 20% of buildings in a typical U.S. city.
San Francisco’s stringent planning standards and its building codes, as well as high construction costs, make office-to-residential conversions a heavy lift, though.
Related Stories
Adaptive Reuse | Oct 5, 2017
Wexford’s latest innovation center breaks ground in Providence
The campus is expected to include an Aloft hotel.
Office Buildings | Jun 13, 2017
WeWork takes on a construction management app provider
Fieldlens helps turn jobsites into social networks.
Office Buildings | Mar 27, 2017
New York warehouse to become an office mixing industrial and modern aesthetics
The building is located in West Chelsea between the High Line and West Street.
Adaptive Reuse | Nov 9, 2016
Middle school transformed into affordable housing for seniors
The project received $3.8 million in public financing in exchange for constructing units for residents earning less than 60 percent of the area’s median income.
Adaptive Reuse | Nov 7, 2016
From fuel to food: adaptive reuse converts a closed gas station in Princeton, N.J., to a Nomad pizza
The original building dates back to the Modernist 1930s.
Hotel Facilities | Sep 7, 2016
Fish out of water: The site of a Birdseye frozen-food factory in Gloucester, Mass., transforms into a seaside hotel
The construction of this 94-room hotel and conference center pitted tourism proponents against locals who want to preserve this historic city’s fishing heritage.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 24, 2016
A symposium in New Jersey examines how a consolidating healthcare industry can better manage its excess real estate
As service providers position themselves closer to their communities, they are looking for ways to redirect non-core buildings and land for other purposes.
Adaptive Reuse | Apr 7, 2016
Redevelopment plan announced for Chicago’s historic Cook County Hospital
The century-old, Beaux Arts architecture-inspired hospital will transform into a mixed-use development.
