NYC Unveils Recommendations on Converting Underused Office Space Into Housing

New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveiled the recommendations of a task force with the goal of converting underused office space into new housing in the city — an avenue officials hope may help address the housing crisis in the Big Apple.

In total, the Office Adaptive Reuse Task Force, and led by New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Dan Garodnick, offered 11 recommendations in its New York City Office Adaptive Reuse Study to change state and city zoning laws to allow for more flexibility to convert office space into living areas. Overall, the effort, according to the city, is to ease the possible conversion of an additional 136 million square feet of office space into residences.

Officials note that while property owners will ultimately determine whether they want to convert their buildings’ use, the recommendations could potentially create as many as 20,000 homes in the next 10 years, which translates to enough space to house up to 40,000 New Yorkers.

The task force’s recommendations include:

  • Allowing for the most flexible regulations for conversion to residential use out of office buildings built through 1961 to those built through 1990;
  • Expanding flexible conversion regulations to all high-intensity office districts, including Downtown Flushing and the Bronx Hub;
  • Finding opportunities to allow housing, whether through conversions or new construction, in a central, high-density part of Midtown that presently bans residential development;
  • Allowing office buildings to convert to various types of housing, including supportive housing;
  • Providing flexibility for offices to convert all existing space into housing;
  • Exploring and pursuing a tax incentive program to support the creation of affordable and mixed-income housing through office conversions — adding to the city’s affordable housing without eliminating other private investment in conversions and housing creation; and
  • Creating a property tax abatement program to incentivize retrofitting office space for child care centers.

These recommended reforms would be implemented by means of state law and regulatory changes.

“With this study, we have a roadmap to deliver on a vision for a more vibrant, resilient, prosperous, and affordable city,” Adams said in a statement. “The need for housing is desperate, and the opportunity offered by underused office space is clear — we know what we need to do. These concrete reforms would clear red tape and create the incentives to create the housing we need for New Yorkers at all income levels.”

Meanwhile, NYC Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer said the move would essentially help the city address the housing crisis.

“Enabling more offices to convert to housing will help us bring back our commercial districts while also addressing our housing supply crisis,” Torres-Springer said. “The recommendations in this report will set us on the path to achieving these critical goals.”

Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz shared similar sentiments, saying in a statement: “To solve our housing shortage, we need every tool possible. Our administration’s housing blueprint, Housing Our Neighbors, calls for leveraging zoning to encourage more affordable and supportive housing citywide, helping families access new neighborhoods with amenities, jobs, and schools close by, which every New Yorker deserves.”

(Disclosure: Gary Rodney, Head of Affordable Housing at Tishman Speyer, is a member of the New York City’s Office Adaptive Reuse Task Force. Tishman owns NBC’s offices in the city.)

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