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Experts pitch office‑to‑residential co‑living conversions as lower‑cost option; code and retrofit hurdles cited
Summary
Pew and land‑use experts told the committee office‑to‑residential conversions and co‑living micro‑units could produce lower‑cost housing and stretch subsidies, but they identified seismic retrofit rules, building‑code incompatibilities, parking and minimum unit size mandates and rent‑control uncertainty as key barriers.
The Senate Interim Committee on Housing and Development heard Sept. 29 from national researchers and local attorneys on converting office and commercial buildings to residential uses, including co‑living and micro‑unit models.
Alex Horowitz, director of the Housing Policy Initiative at the Pew Charitable Trusts, presented Gensler‑designed floor plans and cost comparisons for co‑living conversions. He said the U.S. housing shortage has driven prices up — "half of renters spending more than 30% of income on rent, a quarter spending more than 50%" — and argued that adaptive reuse can…
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