The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a shift in the way we work and live, with many downtown areas left empty as workers stay home. To address the desperate need for housing in California, lawmakers in San Francisco are proposing a bill that would make it easier and faster to convert empty office buildings into apartments and condos. The proposed legislation seeks to revitalize downtown by creating a balanced mix of offices, housing, entertainment, retail, and other amenities.
Assembly Bill 1532 proposes to classify office conversion projects as “by right” developments, which would ease the permitting and review process for housing projects. This means that a city or county would be prohibited from mandating specific permits for the conversion of vacant offices into housing.
Breaking Down Barriers to Office to Housing Conversions in California
One of the major barriers to office-to-housing conversions is the high cost and bureaucratic process of seeking approvals to change a property’s use from commercial to residential. The new bill aims to address this by providing financial incentives and preventing local officials from blocking such projects as long as 10% of the units are affordable and they do not exceed basic height and density limits.
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