A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper from researchers at New York University and Columbia Business School indicates that about 11% of U.S. office buildings may be suitable for conversion to green multifamily properties.
According to a report at Globe St., the researchers created “a set of criteria to identify commercial office properties that are physically suitable for conversion.” The paper also discusses “several policy levers available to federal, state, and local governments that could accelerate the conversion.”
The researchers identified candidates for conversion according to the following criteria:
- Locations in a city with the strongest negative valuation pressures and with strong transportation options
- Buildings constructed before 1990 that tend to be cheaper, have smaller floor plates, and are more charming, increasing conversion appeal
- Class A, B, and C buildings that are underused
- Buildings at least 25,000 sf in size to ensure enough economies of scale
- Buildings with a distance from windows to core of more than 60 feet were excluded
- Eliminated buildings with no or few long-term leases left
The researchers showed an example pro-forma for a 212,500 sf office building that would result in post-conversion rent of $8 per square foot as compared to a $3.50 post-pandemic rent if the property remained as an office building.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Nov 28, 2022
Top 200 Office Sector Architecture and AE Firms for 2022
Gensler, Perkins and Will, Stantec, and HOK top the ranking of the nation's largest office sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Data Centers | Nov 28, 2022
Data centers are a hot market—don't waste the heat!
SmithGroup's Brian Rener shares a few ways to integrate data centers in mixed-use sites, utilizing waste heat to optimize the energy demands of the buildings.
BAS and Security | Oct 19, 2022
The biggest cybersecurity threats in commercial real estate, and how to mitigate them
Coleman Wolf, Senior Security Systems Consultant with global engineering firm ESD, outlines the top-three cybersecurity threats to commercial and institutional building owners and property managers, and offers advice on how to deter and defend against hackers.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 60 Medical Office Building Contractors + CM Firms for 2022
PCL Construction, Adolfson & Peterson, Swinerton, and Skanska USA top the ranking of the nation's largest medical office building (MOB) contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 50 Medical Office Building Engineering + EA Firms for 2022
Jacobs, Gresham Smith, KPFF Consulting Engineers, and IMEG Corp. head the ranking of the nation's largest medical office building (MOB) engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 100 Medical Office Building Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
CannonDesign, Perkins Eastman, HGA, and E4H Environments for Health Architecture top the ranking of the nation's largest medical office building (MOB) architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Green | Oct 5, 2022
In California, a public power provider’s new headquarters serves as a test case for an innovative microgrid and for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Sonoma Clean Power (SCP), the public power provider for California’s Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, recently unveiled its new all-electric headquarters.
| Sep 23, 2022
Central offices making a comeback after pandemic
In the early stages of the Covid pandemic, commercial real estate industry experts predicted that businesses would increasingly move toward a hub-and-spoke office model.
| Sep 20, 2022
New Long Beach office building reflects Mid-Century Modern garden-style motif
The new Long Beach, Calif., headquarters of Laserfiche, a provider of intelligent content management and business process automation software, was built on a brownfield parcel previously considered undevelopable.
| Sep 6, 2022
Demand for flexible workspace reaches all-time high
Demand for flexible workspace including coworking options has never been higher, according to a survey from Yardi Kube, a space management software provider that is part of Yardi Systems.