Posted on 08/07/2023 5:04:45 PM PDT by ChicagoConservative27
Lonely office buildings languishing away during the remote and hybrid work boom could have a new life — and it might mean your next apartment could be both good for the environment and your wallet.
A new working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research by Arpit Gupta, Candy Martinez, and Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh finds that more than 2,000 office buildings in American downtowns could be converted into eco-friendly apartment buildings. Those conversions could yield up to 400,000 new apartment units, and, at minimum, over 170,000 new units — a major boon in cities simultaneously inflicted with housing crises and empty office towers.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
It’s not as easy as this lede makes it sound
Free housing For the invaders.
Do we really need more luxury units that most people can’t afford?
Close the colleges and put the illegals in the empty dorms so the Marxist Dems will have illegal voters who are well rested.
Actually, if priced and policed right, this could be a good idea. Downtown Pittsbugh puts you within walking distance of Broadway quality plays (Benedem Center), the Pirates and Steelers venues, some great eating places and a good transportation hub. Tourists used to love us.
First, interior designer/architect.
Then, gut them.
Then, all new plumbing. No gas stoves in high rises, so all new electric wiring.
Permits.
More Permits.
Zoning Commission
Opposition from developers
Opposition from office workers in neighboring buildings.
Opposition from NGOs and other developers who profit from homelessness.
And lots more.
Now ordinarily I’d say this is a good idea. Let the owners of these buildings convert them into apartments. Just in practice it’s going to be a monumental effort.
if people can’t afford them, won’t the apartment landlords offer incentives or reduce the rent to match the market-rate demand?
Politicians and their developer cronies are probably frantically rushing through re-zoning legislation so they can get in on the bottom floor of the slum lords for illegals racket.
The term “eco friendly” is a giant red flag to me.
What will these “eco friendly” apartments have, composting toilets?
Being that there is a glut of office space and a shortage of residential properties, if it makes sense for investors.
Or, the taxpayer can bail out CRE, just like they did the banks.
“not as easy”
That’s why they’ll get the government to pay for it.
To house illegals.
“Those conversions could yield up to 400,000 new apartment units”
About enough to house a month of invaders(5,000,000 annually/12).
Oh boy, downtown living. Take the first step outside the door and you step into poop. And while you’re trying to scrape that off you get mugged. Sign me up!
I lived in Hong Kong for 20+ years. High-rises are great places to live —— If the infrastructure is there to support people that live in them. In HK that means residential buildings on top of retail areas with grocery stores, shopping, clinics, recreational areas, and parking. Often they have direct entrances to the subway and bus terminals. Offices do not need any of that.
Many office buildings would struggle to provide most of those things.
People won’t want to walk 8 blocks to the ONLY grocery store in a dangerous US city at night, or in the rain, or the cold.
Are there schools down Town for the kids to go too? If not do you want to put them on a buss at the crack of dawn surrounded by homeless addicts?
Without places to play and run off energy kid’s would go nuts in a converted office building.
Why would you live somewhere that you have to walk a block or more to park your car when you have a driveway or parking spot farther out?
This doesn’t even deal with the cost of converting the building, adding individual plumbing and electrical hook ups for the flats, redesigning the interior, Reconfiguring the lobby.
There are, in my experience, fewer choices in US cities down towns, especially after dark, especially for families.
All those empty buildings in San Francisco are going to there and rot. Thanks to the former mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom. That’s what he plans to do to the rest of the country.
Or two years’ worth at 25 illegals per apartment.
Which is why each $100K apartment will cost $500K.
“First, interior designer/architect.
Then, gut them...........”
Steel bars and a few guard stations is all you really need.
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