NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Eric Adams unveiled his plan on Monday to convert underused office space into new housing for New Yorkers, as much of the city's Midtown offices remain empty three years into the pandemic.
The plan, which is based on suggestions from a city task force created in July, calls for creating as many as 20,000 homes in the next decade, enough to house up to 40,000 New Yorkers.
"With this study, we have a roadmap to deliver on a vision for a more vibrant, resilient, prosperous, and affordable city," the mayor said in a statement. "These concrete reforms would clear red tape and create the incentives to create the housing we need for New Yorkers at all income levels."
The Office Adaptive Reuse Task Force proposed 11 recommendations to state laws and city zoning requirements that, according to the city, could extend the most flexible conversion regulations to an additional 136 million square feet of office space, roughly the amount of office space in the entire city of Philadelphia.
Some of the other recommendations call for:
Expanding the universe of office buildings with the most flexible regulations for conversion to residential use from buildings constructed through 1961 to those constructed through 1990.
Exploring and pursuing a tax incentive program to support the production of affordable and mixed-income housing through office conversions — adding to the city's affordable housing stock without deterring other private investment in conversions and housing creation.
Providing flexibility for offices to convert all existing space into housing, eliminating limitations that incentivize only partial conversions or make conversion projects infeasible.
Finding opportunities to allow housing, whether through conversions or new construction, in a centrally located, high-density part of Midtown that currently prohibits residential development.
Allowing office buildings to be converted into various much-needed types of housing, including supportive housing.
The initiative, according to NYC Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer, will essentially assist 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," she said. "The recommendations in this report will set us on the path to achieving these critical goals."
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