Amy Serafino Offers Guidance on Office-to-Apartment Conversions in Daily Record Article
December 2023 | Category: News
With the trend in office-to-apartment conversions remaining strong through 2023, it’s important for commercial real estate professionals to ask the right questions before embarking on any new project pursuit. In the Maryland Daily Record article “Key Questions for Adaptive Reuse Projects,” Amy Serafino outlines key considerations that developers should weigh before tackling adaptive reuse projects — one of the most notable CRE trends of 2023.
While converting an office to residential space may seem like a perfect solution in light of the seemingly ever-increasing office vacancy rate and ongoing housing shortage, particularly in the DMV, Amy advises that, “commercial real estate professionals need to be aware of and thoroughly consider the many complexities that office-to-apartment projects entail and the many challenges that can arise.”
Several questions to consider include:
- How is the property currently zoned and can a new zoning classification, or exception to the existing zoning, be obtained within a reasonable timeframe?
- How feasible is the conversion, and how extensive (and expensive) will it be? Many urban office buildings are mid-block rectangles that lack windows, potentially drastically reducing the amount of usable square footage that can be converted to residential use.
- What is the parking situation?
- Are there existing office tenants occupying the building and what are the remaining lease terms?
- What is the surrounding neighborhood like?
Find answers to these important questions and more in the full article here. (Subscription required.)