San Francisco voters approve tax break for office-to-residential conversions

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.

The California Building Standards Commission recently voted to make it easier to convert commercial properties to residential use. The commission adopted provisions of the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) that allow developers more flexibility for adaptive reuse of retail and office structures.

Adaptive Reuse | Jul 6, 2023

The responsibility of adapting historic university buildings

Shepley Bulfinch's David Whitehill, AIA, believes the adaptive reuse of historic university buildings is not a matter of sentimentality but of practicality, progress, and preservation.

Millennium on LaSalle, Chicago (at left-center), designed by FitzGerald. Photo: Seba Rut, courtesy Fitzgerald

Multifamily Housing | Jun 19, 2023

Adaptive reuse: 5 benefits of office-to-residential conversions

FitzGerald completed renovations on Millennium on LaSalle, a 14-story building in the heart of Chicago’s Loop. Originally built in 1902, the former office building now comprises 211 apartment units and marks LaSalle Street’s first complete office-to-residential conversion.

Multifamily Housing | May 23, 2023

One out of three office buildings in largest U.S. cities are suitable for residential conversion

Roughly one in three office buildings in the largest U.S. cities are well suited to be converted to multifamily residential properties, according to a study by global real estate firm Avison Young. Some 6,206 buildings across 10 U.S. cities present viable opportunities for conversion to residential use.

Multifamily Housing | May 16, 2023

Legislators aim to make office-to-housing conversions easier

Lawmakers around the country are looking for ways to spur conversions of office space to residential use.cSuch projects come with challenges such as inadequate plumbing, not enough exterior-facing windows, and footprints that don’t easily lend themselves to residential use. These conditions raise the cost for developers.

Sustainability | May 11, 2023

Let's build toward a circular economy

Eric Corey Freed, Director of Sustainability, CannonDesign, discusses the values of well-designed, regenerative buildings.

Office Buildings | May 4, 2023

In Southern California, a former industrial zone continues to revitalize with an award-winning office property

In Culver City, Calif., Del Amo Construction, a construction company based in Southern California, has completed the adaptive reuse of 3516 Schaefer St, a new office property. 3516 Schaefer is located in Culver City’s redeveloped Hayden Tract neighborhood, a former industrial zone that has become a technology and corporate hub.

Abandoned T.J. Maxx converted into Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library, GBBN architects

Libraries | Mar 26, 2023

An abandoned T.J. Maxx is transformed into a new public library in Cincinnati

What was once an abandoned T.J. Maxx store in a shopping center is now a vibrant, inviting public library. The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL) has transformed the ghost store into the new Deer Park Library, designed by GBBN.