Originally published on October 20, 2023, by Logan Nagel for NAIOP.

Low occupancy across the office sector as well as high demand for housing has many real estate development professionals asking whether adaptive reuse of commercial buildings may be an option to add supply during the housing crisis. A NAIOP CRE.Converge conference panel in Seattle this week investigated that very question, focusing on a successful conversion case study in Alexandria, Virginia, as well as exploring what it takes to get conversion projects across the finish line. 

Completed in 2020, The Foundry transformed an underutilized federal office building into a mixed-use residential property. It sold in 2021 for $262 million, after the developer paid $50 million for the property and $150 million in construction, design, and carrying cost. The sale was CoStar’s 2021 Deal of the Year. Office conversions give developers a number of benefits: they can provide opportunities in attractive markets with limited available open space while saving time and money compared to ground-up construction. At the same time, they also present their own challenges, particularly around layout and structural considerations.  

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We definitely see growing momentum around the country related to adaptive reuse.  In some cases, this involves office-to-residential conversions and in others office to other institutional uses.  You may recall we started beating the drum on this back in November as one of our six strategies related to housing affordability (click here) with the mindset that increased production of housing units would be a positive outcome.

Since that time, we have had an opportunity to talk to a lot of folks who agree that we should see if we can make it work.

One architectural firm in particular, Gensler, has put much effort into the concept.  Click the links below to learn more about how these ideas could become a reality.

• Gensler Blog - What We Learned
• Gensler Blog - Converting Class C Office Space
• Gensler Webinar
• Calculator Presentation

Originally published on February 16, 2023, by NAIOP.

From pricing to building codes to zoning and beyond, developers embarking on an adaptive reuse project must consider key factors that can make or break its success.

Steve Smith, principal with Cooper Carry, explores the importance of location, authenticity of a building, and the important return on investment that make adaptive reuse projects successful.

This NAIOP Insight was filmed at CRE.Converge 2022.

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Originally published on December 9, 2022, by Mike Cavanaugh and Scott Waddell for BDCNetwork.com

While new construction allows for incredible levels of customization, there’s no denying that new buildings can have adverse impacts on the climate, budgets, schedules, and even the cultural and historic fabrics of communities. While any responsible architect will design buildings to minimize these impacts, there is no avoiding them entirely.

One proven strategy to limit these impacts is breathing new life into existing buildings, especially those with long-life durability, aesthetic character, and long-lasting exterior cores of steel and concrete. Known as adaptive reuse, this strategy takes an existing, unused building (think your nearby empty mall, a vacant corporate office, or a long-unused factory) and transforms it into a needed space that will bring value and vibrancy to its community.

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