4 ms·

Good. Maybe we can mass retrofit old office space into new housing. I know there are issues with office buildings not having the electricity and plumbing or l

Good. Maybe we can mass retrofit old office space into new housing. I know there are issues with office buildings not having the electricity and plumbing or lighting for proper residential, but I'm sure there are a lot of budding architects working on the problem. It would be great for cities if we had a massive influx of relatively affordable housing.

nerdponx 4y ago
It's ridiculous to even consider this in New York, where they could have just been building normal apartments instead of luxury condo towers for the last 10 years.
- bcrosby95 4y ago
  Nah, gotta create more piggy banks for the billionaire class.
  - kibwen 4y ago
    This doesn't deserve to be downvoted, it is a perfectly apt description of many of NYC's newest skyscrapers.
- asdajksah2123 4y ago
  What's the difference between "normal apartments" and "luxury condo towers"?
  - nerdponx 4y ago
    Price, mostly. Luxury amenities are a consequence thereof. However you can't just blame it on demand. These are $16 million condos we are talking about. Functionally they are entirely different goods from apartments intended to be inhabited as a primary residence by people who are not extravagantly wealthy. Moreover, vacancy rates for luxury apartments were high before Covid, and remain high now, even while the rest of the city continues to deal with brutally low vacancy rates in all other housing categories. So the situation is a little more subtle than "low supply, therefore high prices" and warrants further scrutiny.
gumby 4y ago
I was a big fan of this but it's harder than it sounds. After all, we all know of some great commercial conversions from prior generations (most of the southern part of Manhattan, for example). Unfortunately the big modern office towers often aren't constructed in a way that supports apartment conversion. There are lots of offices in those buildings with no windows, and all the service(i.e bathrooms) are in the core. Retail space is often worse in this regard, especially in malls. The renovation costs often end up higher than demolishing and building anew. I still think you're on the right track though, it's just that the obvious fix is harder than it looks. But I do believe cities are in for a great renaissance of mixed-use buildings.
- plasticchris 4y ago
  Maybe apartments are the wrong paradigm - this sounds perfect for creating something like a dormitory with rooms on the perimeter and shared bathrooms.
aorloff 4y ago
AB 2011 purports to address this. I don’t have confidence it will move the needle.

nerdponx 4y ago

It's ridiculous to even consider this in New York, where they could have just been building normal apartments instead of luxury condo towers for the last 10 years.

bcrosby95 4y ago
Nah, gotta create more piggy banks for the billionaire class.
- kibwen 4y ago
  This doesn't deserve to be downvoted, it is a perfectly apt description of many of NYC's newest skyscrapers.
asdajksah2123 4y ago
What's the difference between "normal apartments" and "luxury condo towers"?
- nerdponx 4y ago
  Price, mostly. Luxury amenities are a consequence thereof. However you can't just blame it on demand. These are $16 million condos we are talking about. Functionally they are entirely different goods from apartments intended to be inhabited as a primary residence by people who are not extravagantly wealthy. Moreover, vacancy rates for luxury apartments were high before Covid, and remain high now, even while the rest of the city continues to deal with brutally low vacancy rates in all other housing categories. So the situation is a little more subtle than "low supply, therefore high prices" and warrants further scrutiny.

gumby 4y ago

I was a big fan of this but it's harder than it sounds. After all, we all know of some great commercial conversions from prior generations (most of the southern part of Manhattan, for example). Unfortunately the big modern office towers often aren't constructed in a way that supports apartment conversion. There are lots of offices in those buildings with no windows, and all the service(i.e bathrooms) are in the core. Retail space is often worse in this regard, especially in malls. The renovation costs often end up higher than demolishing and building anew. I still think you're on the right track though, it's just that the obvious fix is harder than it looks. But I do believe cities are in for a great renaissance of mixed-use buildings.

plasticchris 4y ago
Maybe apartments are the wrong paradigm - this sounds perfect for creating something like a dormitory with rooms on the perimeter and shared bathrooms.

aorloff 4y ago

AB 2011 purports to address this. I don’t have confidence it will move the needle.