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
| Aug 29, 2014
China Syndrome: How long will U.S. firms keep milking the Middle Kingdom?
U.S. architecture and engineering firms like Goettsch Partners have been enjoying full employment in China. But will there come a point when Chinese officials—and Chinese designers—say, We can handle this? BD+C's Robert Cassidy digs into this issue.
| Aug 28, 2014
Stantec releases design for Edmonton's tallest tower
At 227 meters, Stantec Tower will be the tallest building in the city, dwarfing the two next-tallest: Epcor Tower and Manulife Tower.
| Aug 27, 2014
Designs for community-based workspace in Carlsbad unveiled
Cruzan announced make, a 175,000-square-foot office redevelopment project on the coast of Carlsbad, Calif. Cruzan will usher this next generation of community-based, integrated workspace into existence in fall 2014.
| Aug 25, 2014
Tall wood buildings: Surveying the early innovators
Timber has been largely abandoned as a structural solution in taller buildings during the last century, in favor of concrete and steel. Perkins+Will's Rebecca Holt writes about the firm's work in surveying the burgeoning tall wood buildings sector.
| Aug 25, 2014
'Vanity space' makes up large percentage of world's tallest buildings [infographic]
Large portions of some skyscrapers are useless space used to artificially enhance their height, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Aug 25, 2014
Photographer creates time-lapse video of 1 WTC using 30,000 photos
Choosing from 30,000 photos he took from the day construction began in 2006 to the day when construction was finished in 2012, Brooklyn-based photographer Benjamin Rosamund compressed 1,100 photos to create the two-minute video.
| Aug 19, 2014
Goettsch Partners unveils design for mega mixed-use development in Shenzhen [slideshow]
The overall design concept is of a complex of textured buildings that would differentiate from the surrounding blue-glass buildings of Shenzhen.
| Aug 18, 2014
From icon to breadbasket: Gehry building to be turned into Whole Foods
The Howard Hughes Corporation, in association with architecture firm Cho Benn Holback + Associates, plans to turn the building—at least the majority of it—into a Whole Foods.
| Aug 18, 2014
SPARK’s newly unveiled mixed-use development references China's flowing hillscape
Architecture firm SPARK recently finished a design for a new development in Shenzhen. The 770,700 square-foot mixed-use structure's design mimics the hilly landscape of the site's locale.
| Aug 14, 2014
How workplace design can empower employees, businesses
Focusing on recent work at Follett and Zurich, CannonDesign’ Meg Osman reveals the power of research, strategy, change management, and measurement to transform businesses for the better.