5 ms·

Residential interiors use far heavier products, don't have a central AC system (so each unit will have additional AC systems on the roof), and can have "upgrade

Residential interiors use far heavier products, don't have a central AC system (so each unit will have additional AC systems on the roof), and can have "upgraded over time" finishes (marble floors and countertops). How will they avoid a similar thing as the surfside condo collapse. Another thing to consider is that the plumbing is very different- way more bathrooms, and those bathrooms may not be near the core of the building - this can cause instability in weight distribution especially when everyone is doing their mornin routine.

nashashmi 1y ago
Commercial buildings are designed for higher loads than residential buildings: I think it is 150 psf vs 80 psf.
hinkley 1y ago
You could certainly force the bathroom placement with the wet walls. Code is code, and space folding does not exist. So if you only allow for 18” of drop on the pluming then all the drains have to be within fifteen foot radius of the sewer line. And the floor beams will limit that further. That said, the responsible thing is not to convert the whole building but make a sandwich of retail ground floor, residential above, then commercial, then maybe real estate top floors. Weight carried low is fewer failure points for the building.
vladvasiliu 1y ago
I agree with your other points, but does actually each unit need a dedicated AC? I live in a building with district heating, we all get the same hot water. If I don't want to live in an oven during the winter, I'll turn down the heaters' thermostats, which lets less hot water in. Couldn't we have a similar thing for cold air in the summer? Send the same temperature to everybody, and allow people to choose how much of that air they allow in their units. Shouldn't this also be more efficient than a dedicated AC unit per home?
- esseph 1y ago
  If you're aiming for efficiency and not individualized comfort you will have less interested parties. Some people run hot, some cold.
  - izacus 1y ago
    Is there any risk of no interest in NYC?
    - esseph 1y ago
      I'm sure I could sell a used sausage to someone in NYC.
- vel0city 1y ago
  Lots of cities have building codes for multifamily residential that requires independent ventilation for each unit to reduce cross contamination, or requires zones and duct work that prevents such mixture of air. This generally isn't true in commercial office buildings, which are more along the lines of what you're talking about. But often tenants themselves don't even directly control their temperature at will; it is managed by property management.
- TuringNYC 1y ago
  I lived in NYC. Problem with non-individual pipes is that you get Marijuana smoke and cigarette smoke from neighboring apartments to yours. Also if there are multiple units, there is always plausible deniability on who the culprit is.
  - josefritzishere 1y ago
    This is real and very stinky.
  - vladvasiliu 1y ago
    Wouldn’t the air pressure keep whatever smoke is in an apartment outside the pipe ? So that would prevent it from traveling from one to the other. I used to live in a high rise which had a common pipe for extraction, I never had any odor coming in, and I know my neighbors were smoking since I would get smoke if the windows were open.
kccqzy 1y ago
Each unit doesn't need AC systems on the roof. Window ACs and wall units suffice. They are also more efficient than central AC due to the lack of ducts. And if the office was old (prewar) it likely didn't have AC in the first place so it had ventilation shafts and courtyards, and you could get away with not having AC in certain spaces that are far from windows.
abeppu 1y ago
Why is the surfside condo collapse specifically relevant for office-to-residential conversions? That building was built for residential from the start. And that building also had basically ignored a major maintenance issue for multiple years.
adanto6840 1y ago
I’m sure that structural engineers will be heavily involved. While there are some things to consider or worry about, I don’t know that any of your concerns are actually valid things to be overly worried about. They’re certainly all solvable and I have no doubt that the PE(s) putting their stamps on it will have valid proven solutions that check out mathematically.

nashashmi 1y ago

Commercial buildings are designed for higher loads than residential buildings: I think it is 150 psf vs 80 psf.

hinkley 1y ago

You could certainly force the bathroom placement with the wet walls. Code is code, and space folding does not exist. So if you only allow for 18” of drop on the pluming then all the drains have to be within fifteen foot radius of the sewer line. And the floor beams will limit that further. That said, the responsible thing is not to convert the whole building but make a sandwich of retail ground floor, residential above, then commercial, then maybe real estate top floors. Weight carried low is fewer failure points for the building.

vladvasiliu 1y ago

I agree with your other points, but does actually each unit need a dedicated AC? I live in a building with district heating, we all get the same hot water. If I don't want to live in an oven during the winter, I'll turn down the heaters' thermostats, which lets less hot water in. Couldn't we have a similar thing for cold air in the summer? Send the same temperature to everybody, and allow people to choose how much of that air they allow in their units. Shouldn't this also be more efficient than a dedicated AC unit per home?

esseph 1y ago
If you're aiming for efficiency and not individualized comfort you will have less interested parties. Some people run hot, some cold.
- izacus 1y ago
  Is there any risk of no interest in NYC?
  - esseph 1y ago
    I'm sure I could sell a used sausage to someone in NYC.
vel0city 1y ago
Lots of cities have building codes for multifamily residential that requires independent ventilation for each unit to reduce cross contamination, or requires zones and duct work that prevents such mixture of air. This generally isn't true in commercial office buildings, which are more along the lines of what you're talking about. But often tenants themselves don't even directly control their temperature at will; it is managed by property management.
TuringNYC 1y ago
I lived in NYC. Problem with non-individual pipes is that you get Marijuana smoke and cigarette smoke from neighboring apartments to yours. Also if there are multiple units, there is always plausible deniability on who the culprit is.
- josefritzishere 1y ago
  This is real and very stinky.
- vladvasiliu 1y ago
  Wouldn’t the air pressure keep whatever smoke is in an apartment outside the pipe ? So that would prevent it from traveling from one to the other. I used to live in a high rise which had a common pipe for extraction, I never had any odor coming in, and I know my neighbors were smoking since I would get smoke if the windows were open.

kccqzy 1y ago

Each unit doesn't need AC systems on the roof. Window ACs and wall units suffice. They are also more efficient than central AC due to the lack of ducts. And if the office was old (prewar) it likely didn't have AC in the first place so it had ventilation shafts and courtyards, and you could get away with not having AC in certain spaces that are far from windows.

abeppu 1y ago

Why is the surfside condo collapse specifically relevant for office-to-residential conversions? That building was built for residential from the start. And that building also had basically ignored a major maintenance issue for multiple years.

adanto6840 1y ago

I’m sure that structural engineers will be heavily involved. While there are some things to consider or worry about, I don’t know that any of your concerns are actually valid things to be overly worried about. They’re certainly all solvable and I have no doubt that the PE(s) putting their stamps on it will have valid proven solutions that check out mathematically.