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Office buildings usually have floor plans and plumbing that make it extremely difficult to turn them into apartments.

• hedora 3y ago
  They also usually have space for drop ceilings for exactly this reason. It’s true that the $/sq ft value of post-conversion will be lower than pre-conversion but the idea that the building is negative value is nonsense. Sell each floor as a single unit unrentable condo for $1M, and let the new occupant put whatever floor plan they want in. Office buildings have very few structural walls because companies frequently change floor plans. Most of the articles I’ve seen saying the above is hard assume that building that the current owners of the buildings must turn a profit. Similarly, they assume building codes are immutable. The buildings have safe fire exit routes, and adequate light. So, relax window requirements for individual rooms on the condition that each unit’s perimeter is at least N% window.
  • jononomo 3y ago
    This is a 40-minute interview with a developer who specializes in converting office buildings into apartments: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-really-takes-to-convert-an-office-building/id1056200096?i=1000619506506 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-really-takes-t... It is from this interview that I learned that the plumbing often has to be entirely redone.