‘Activating downtown’: More vacant offices in the pipeline to become housing in Boston

BOSTON — City officials expect about 100 new apartments created inside vacant office buildings will be occupied in downtown Boston by next year.

Mayor Michelle Wu launched an office-to-residential conversion program last year after COVID left Boston with two big problems: empty office buildings and astronomical housing costs.

The vacancy rate for office space is 25%-28% said Prataap Patrose, a Senior Advisor at the Boston Planning Department.

But Boston is really a tale of two cities.

The new gleaming towers in the Seaport, which are Class A office space, are relatively full.

“For Class B and C office space, which is basically buildings built in the 1910-1950s, the rate is higher,” explained Patrose. “The concentration of the Class B and C office space tends to be in the downtown area.”

To lure developers, Mayor Wu’s program includes tax abatements and fast-track permitting. All with the goal of getting more housing downtown.

Patrose believes this program is an innovative way to address two issues at the same time.

“Right now, we have 10 applicants for 13 buildings that roughly cover 450,000 square feet of Class B and Class C space. They are sitting vacant right now and would be converted into 490 units.”

A consultant hired by the city estimates that 60 buildings in the downtown area are potentially suitable for conversion.

In June, Governor Maura Healey kicked in $15 million to the program and the city extended the deadline for applicants. “We expect to incentivize larger projects in the coming months. We already had two that are in the 100-unit range,” added Patrose.

Converting office space into housing is a complex technical task.

Utilities and floor plans often need major upgrades.

“All of those issues are there,” said Mahesh Daas, Ph.D.,

President of the Boston Architectural College. “Those are technical problems we can solve by putting enough money into it. The question is, is that money well spent? If the intent is to have housing that is affordable, inclusive, equitable, and scalable?”

He doesn’t believe conversions will make a big dent in the area’s housing crunch.

“Boston likes big things. Boston likes to think bold. And I would encourage all of us to think of this as a big problem and with a bigger solution.

Patrose believes “This is one of those rare opportunities when we can hit three birds with one stone.”

The city believes this is a big step in bringing back downtown after its COVID slump.

Patrose thinks the impact would be dramatic.

“490 units of means about a thousand people if you assume two people per unit,” Patrose said. “That would be activating the downtown area and actually bringing more spending power.”

20% of the units created in these conversions would be required to meet the definition of affordable.

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