Theirs is one of many commercial properties with persistent vacancies in the era of hybrid work, particularly at older buildings. Now the city and the state want to help transform these offices into housing. Kershaw's company is set to convert the South End building into nearly units of housing. After a recent tour of 95 Berkeley, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told reporters some owners have gone so long without business tenants for their buildings, they feel they have to look into residential housing.
The push for office-to-residential conversions comes as officials look to address a number of problems that come with empty buildings: concerns about potential blight and keeping a vibrant downtown. And then there's Boston's pressing need for more housing. There are also concerns on the part of building owners. Demand remains high for best-in-class office space in Boston — think of the gleaming towers in the Seaport — but for B and C-class offices, like many buildings around downtown Boston, the market is struggling.
Office vacancies in the city have doubled since the first quarter of , to Advocates say conversions could kill two birds with one stone, warding off vacancies while adding desperately needed housing to the market.
Cities across Massachusetts are identifying office buildings that could be candidates for residential conversions. Architect Tim Love of Utile Architecture and Planning, one of the contributors to Boston's conversion study , said certain features make buildings more adaptable. For example, he said commercial buildings built before World War II that rely on natural light and ventilation are more suitable for living than ones that came later, with massive floor plates and windows that don't open.
Beyond Boston, Love said, a number of Gateway Cities in Massachusetts have buildings that can be converted. And some of that work has already happened: consider the converted mills in cities like Lowell and New Bedford. The scale of this new crop of conversions may be smaller, but Love said repurposing even one underused building can help revitalize a neighborhood. If the buildings can be used for residential apartments, owners could be in luck. Asked if subsidizing conversions amounts to a bail-out for property owners, Paul Diego Craney, spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, said developers need a hand to make certain projects feasible.
