The City of San Francisco released a Request For Interest to identify office building conversions that city officials could help expedite with zoning changes, regulatory measures, and financial incentives.
The city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development and Planning Departments are seeking responses from downtown building owners and sponsors on proposals to convert underused commercial space into housing or other uses. The announcement identifies “office-to-housing” projects as a particular interest, but responses may include conversions of non-residential floor area for other uses.
This is San Francisco’s latest step in an effort to revitalize its downtown in a post Covid-environment where office space is underused while formerly downtown-based employees work from home part-time or full time.
The city recently sponsored a study on how to boost vitality in its financial district. The panel that undertook the study offered recommendations including:
- Creating downtown destination zones through ground-plane activation to help transform public spaces and empty storefronts into city attractions.
- Reducing and restructuring businesses taxes, including the gross receipts tax, commercial rents tax, CEO tax, and transfer tax.
- Providing incentives for office-to-residential conversions to tackle the housing shortage.
- Offering other incentives, such as impact-fee waivers and property tax abatement, as well as reducing zoning and building code barriers to adaptive reuse projects.
City officials are also working on an adaptive reuse roadmap for architects, builders, and developers to adapt projects to current building codes and planned revamped codes.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Feb 12, 2015
New Appraisal Institute form aids in analysis of green commercial building features
The Institute’s Commercial Green and Energy Efficient Addendum offers a communication tool that lenders can use as part of the scope of work.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 9, 2015
GSEs and their lenders were active on the multifamily front in 2014
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitized more than $57 billion for 850,000-plus units.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 6, 2015
Fannie Mae to offer lower interest rates to LEED-certified multifamily properties
For certified properties, Fannie Mae is now granting a 10 basis point reduction in the interest rate of a multifamily refinance, acquisition, or supplemental mortgage loan.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 5, 2015
5 developments selected as 'best in urban placemaking'
Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, S.C., and the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Downtown Market are among the finalists for the 2015 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 2, 2015
D.C. developer sees apartment project as catalyst for modeling neighborhood after N.Y.'s popular High Line district
It’s no accident that the word “Highline” is in this project’s name. The goal is for the building to be a kind of gateway into the larger redevelopment of the surrounding neighborhood to resemble New York’s City’s trendy downtown Meatpacking District, through which runs a portion the High Line elevated park.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 31, 2015
5 intriguing trends to track in the multifamily housing game
Demand for rental apartments and condos hasn’t been this strong in years, and our experts think the multifamily sector still has legs. But you have to know what developers, tenants, and buyers are looking for to have any hope of succeeding in this fast-changing market sector.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 31, 2015
20% down?!! Survey exposes how thin renters’ wallets are
A survey of more than 25,000 adults found the renters to be more burdened by debt than homeowners and severely short of emergency savings.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 31, 2015
Production builders are still shying away from rental housing
Toll Brothers, Lennar, and Trumark are among a small group of production builders to engage in construction for rental customers.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 29, 2015
5 predictions for the multifamily sector in 2015
Brian Carlock of PwC expects more younger adults to get into the game, despite continuing affordability issues.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 27, 2015
Multifamily construction, focused on rentals, expected to slow in the coming years
New-home purchases, which recovered strongly in 2014, indicate that homeownership might finally be making a comeback.