A new study by SPUR and the Urban Land Institute’s San Francisco chapter estimates a specific number of apartment units that could be built from vacant office units in the city.
San Francisco is one of the prime examples of downtowns in need of reinvention from office-centric to housing-rich. As documented by recent articles shared by Planetizen, it’s not easy to convert office buildings to residential units, though there’s major potential benefit to identifying the kinds of buildings that can be converted.
Enter a new study by SPUR and the San Francisco Chapter of the Urban Land Institute, detailed in a paywalled article by John King for the San Francisco Chronicle. The two organizations are also hosting an event to dig into the study’s findings in a sold out event on March 28.
The analysis “suggests more than 10,000 housing units could be created within the shells of older office buildings — but only if the city primes the pump by lowering fees and affordable housing requirements,” reports King.
The structures that are the most promising candidates for conversion, according to the summary, are high-rises where the upper floors are no more than 20,000 square feet, roughly equal to the towers of One Market Plaza at the foot of Market Street. There should be an ample number of elevators, and they shouldn’t be too far from the outer windows. There also should be a good mix of views.
The study also includes recommendations for how to make these units make financial sense for developers, including removing or reducing “the current standard that new housing downtown must provide 75 square feet of outdoor space for each residential unit” and removing city requirements that “21.5% of new rental housing must be reserved for lower-income residents.”
“Some changes already are in the works: Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Aaron Peskin on Monday, for instance, announced they’ve crafted a proposed zoning update that would loosen current requirements that all multi-family housing projects include a sizable number of two- and three-bedroom units,” reports King. “It also would allow housing above the first floor of retail buildings in the Union Square district.”
While the full study will be published later this spring, a “Summary of Findings” is already available to read online.
FULL STORY: S.F.’s empty office space could hold 11,000 new homes — but only with City Hall’s help, report says
NYC Mayor Proposes Office Conversion Plan
Proposed zoning updates that would make it easier to convert office buildings in commercial districts to housing and other uses could yield up to 20,000 new housing units in the next decade.
Fourplexes on the Legislative Agenda in San Francisco
San Francisco, the poster child for runaway housing costs and displacement of existing residential populations, could be on the cusp of a change of plans.
New Haven Housing Authority Proposes Zoning Reforms, Land Tax
While the Connecticut State Legislature stalls on zoning reform, a local housing authority in the state is recommending an ambitious package of pro-development, supply-side policy changes to mitigate the cost of housing in the state.
‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.