4 ms·
Isn't there a housing shortage? Rezone these buildings for apartments on the upper floors. Edit: Even if it costs a lot to convert (that is where tax incentive
by sschueller 3y ago
Isn't there a housing shortage? Rezone these buildings for apartments on the upper floors.
Edit: Even if it costs a lot to convert (that is where tax incentives would usually help if done correctly). Having them sit empty costs more eventually.
- wusher 3y agoIt's not as easy as rezoning. there is significant overhead retrofitting commercial real-estate with the plumbing needed for residential. ( as well as many other changes) It's doable but the right incentives would have to be put in place by the city. However, everything i've seen of the city is their policies are very anti landlords. --edit-- fixed grammer
- exochrono 3y agoI would love to see these offices turned into housing as much as anyone, but I also recommend reading this amazing NYT article on why it's not quite so simple as just rezoning or a simple interior remodel - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/11/upshot/office-conversions.html?unlocked_article_code=LQG_2S42UjofK7KSubvSVYJGkqaoGyct8ywU--9JnLjiOBAEtQu7qaX7z13xUmClAdGwAFSBE7jcWOq2Bz9G7upvsHpPoGqf6R-jOezldlzNeSno0FNfcO9r0sOYxQYtNvK0e9uL3-FackZ0hHL3K-o35Jgy-4rgnZSP6uimsHXY2xBgwPFgbDfBxGct6MVctzqWPcZJyb2iRwufQgTOFYEETUg8F-sg01d5p9KbJOwdkCJDRtc2l3tU90E20kNt-qRIKEk5IkcbllxjjChY-QqeCCjEZQWr-Ank6oEX_6KEwAAlfw0bMxwItWY3tmoZm4O_0pTdZCPZ8F68HLbr_9k89m4DD7k_WV9I&smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/11/upshot/office...
- oxfeed65261 3y agoGreat article, thanks for the gift link!
- z3ugma 3y agoThis is very interesting, but it assumes the predicate that separated apartments with individual kitchens and bathrooms are the right way for people to live. And 1 BR and studios at that. These are buildings designed for communal occupancy as offices, why not lean into that as residences? Think like a 1-2 floor cooperative housing for a community of 50-100 people in 25-50 family units. Everyone gets private bedrooms, storage, and a den. But the expensive amenities that foster community are shared: Large commercial-style communal kitchens and bathrooms. That would enable other big shared amenities on the floor like a gym, a daycare, or coworking desks. The epidemic of loneliness plaguing millennials is in my estimation largely due to a lack of community. Think of the kind of community that was east to build at university - why can’t we have that in the conversion of these big floor plates
- LeanderK 3y agothat's actually a great idea. While it's certainly not for everyone, if you don't like it there's every other apartment to choose. It's great to have options from the monotony of the usual apartments.
- slaw 3y agoBoarding houses are banned in US due to zoning laws.
- AndrewKemendo 3y agoI guess we should just give up then right?
- slaw 3y agoI have no hope.
- nativespecies 3y agolol, you go live like that and report back to us.
- exochrono 3y agoAgreed - a friend in Tokyo mentioned that his neighborhood had small apartments that didn't have their own bathrooms but instead came with unlimited access to the public bathhouse down the street. If you were down with that tradeoff you could get an apt in a super desirable neighborhood for ~$300/mo. Sounds like an amazing option to me, but totally prevented by zoning / regulations in the US.
- mrinterweb 3y agoRenovating commercial office space for residential use would be very expensive. Just re-plumbing alone would not be cheep. Probably cheaper than building a brand new building, but I don't know the numbers on that.
- sokoloff 3y agoIt's still far cheaper than the land value alone in any place that has skyscrapers and disused commercial property inside them.
- bombcar 3y agoI've read that in cases where it is not a skyscraper it is more expensive than knock-down and rebuild. And unless it's a really cool old industrial building, you end up with crappy residential buildings that aren't tremendously desired unless the location is really, really good.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- corysama 3y agohttps://sf.funcheap.com/city-guide/sf-convert-downtown-office-buildings-housing/ https://sf.funcheap.com/city-guide/sf-convert-downtown-offic...