5 ms·

I've heard the same, to which I have two replies: (1) It might be expensive to add a lot of extra plumbing, but is it really more expensive than the revenue yo

I've heard the same, to which I have two replies: (1) It might be expensive to add a lot of extra plumbing, but is it really more expensive than the revenue your building isn't generating as office space? (I imagine this will vary a lot from one building and owner to the next). (2) It's possible to have housing with shared bathrooms and kitchens. HN commenters sometimes ask "Yeah, but who wants to live in a place with a shared bathroom?" The answer: someone whose current housing is even worse, or nonexistent. Sleeping in a clean, safe bedroom with a door that locks but having to go down the hall to pee is a big improvement over sleeping on the street.

thedougd 4y ago
I would think drop ceilings go a long way to providing the extra space and access needed to retrofit plumbing.
phpisthebest 4y ago
>>It's possible to have housing with shared bathrooms and kitchens. not with current zoning laws... and good look changing them. never gonna happen. >> Sleeping in a clean, safe bedroom but having to go down the hall to pee is a big improvement over sleeping on the street. Now you are talking about people that likely have no money, and thus your profitability is out the window. There is a reason why most new housing in large cities are "luxury" and not "affordable"... Affordable housing does not make money
TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
> It's possible to have housing with shared bathrooms and kitchens This used to be very popular 100 years ago. You could rent a room in a “boarding house” with shared bath and kitchen. I don’t know why that model failed and no longer exists.
- Something1234 4y ago
  Sounds a lot like the informal roommates agreement where one of them is secretly the owner.
- ElfinTrousers 4y ago
  I haven't been in SF in many years, but at least 15 years ago there were still loads of SRO (single-room occupancy) hotels that people lived in long-term. Typically you'd get a private room with a sink, a block of bathrooms per floor, and no kitchen facilities. Some of these hotels were straight-up crackhouses, but others were clean and peaceful places for people with very little money to live.
snarf21 4y ago
These points are well said. It is easy to create a set of private but shared bathrooms around the existing plumbing blocks .. It could also let people have downtown apartments for 1/3 cost with a potentially great view .. We really need to do a better job of reimagining things into new and different things when the old is no longer wanted; don't get me started on malls...

thedougd 4y ago

I would think drop ceilings go a long way to providing the extra space and access needed to retrofit plumbing.

phpisthebest 4y ago

>>It's possible to have housing with shared bathrooms and kitchens. not with current zoning laws... and good look changing them. never gonna happen. >> Sleeping in a clean, safe bedroom but having to go down the hall to pee is a big improvement over sleeping on the street. Now you are talking about people that likely have no money, and thus your profitability is out the window. There is a reason why most new housing in large cities are "luxury" and not "affordable"... Affordable housing does not make money

TedDoesntTalk 4y ago

> It's possible to have housing with shared bathrooms and kitchens This used to be very popular 100 years ago. You could rent a room in a “boarding house” with shared bath and kitchen. I don’t know why that model failed and no longer exists.

Something1234 4y ago
Sounds a lot like the informal roommates agreement where one of them is secretly the owner.
ElfinTrousers 4y ago
I haven't been in SF in many years, but at least 15 years ago there were still loads of SRO (single-room occupancy) hotels that people lived in long-term. Typically you'd get a private room with a sink, a block of bathrooms per floor, and no kitchen facilities. Some of these hotels were straight-up crackhouses, but others were clean and peaceful places for people with very little money to live.

snarf21 4y ago

These points are well said. It is easy to create a set of private but shared bathrooms around the existing plumbing blocks .. It could also let people have downtown apartments for 1/3 cost with a potentially great view .. We really need to do a better job of reimagining things into new and different things when the old is no longer wanted; don't get me started on malls...