Listen to this articleBy DAN NETTER
Bridgetower Media Newswires
With many downtowns full of too many office buildings, new research presents co-living spaces as the possible next big thing in office-to-residential conversions that could also reduce homelessness.
The research was released Tuesday by architecture firm Gensler and The Pew Charitable Trusts and shows how certain office building types in three cities, Denver, Seattle and Minneapolis, could be repurposed to address the housing problems faced by each metropolitan area.
Co-living spaces are a dormitory style living arrangement where a renter has access to a private “microunit” while sharing amenities like kitchens, bathrooms, laundry and living rooms with other renters.
For Minneapolis, the study centered on the dominant stock of office buildings in the city. These buildings have about 20 floors, an average floorplate size of 28,000 square feet, and an average vacancy rate at 46%. According to the study, this type of building makes up about one-third of all office stock.
The study estimates that about 60 units of housing could be built per floor in the average converted building, with some floors being taken up by office or retail space. According to the study, 60 units per floor will bring about 1,080 units in a single building. The research also presents these co-living spaces as highly customizable for the needs of a city or population.
Chris Sherman, the president of Sherman Associates, said in an interview with Finance & Commerce that the revitalization of downtown Minneapolis will require thinking outside the box, something he credits this report with doing.
Sherman said the proposed method for redevelopment provides a solution for populations of people that are “price-sensitive” and possibly temporarily living in the Twin Cities. Though Sherman said he is skeptical about the level of demand that may exist for this housing stock.
“There’s a large group of prospects that this type of housing could serve,” Sherman said. “I don’t think there’s demand for thousands of these units, but I do think there’s demand for hundreds of units with this set-up.”
The study also proposes how a co-living conversion would work in a public-private partnership. According to the study, a newly built studio in Minneapolis would cost $400,000 per unit. About 313 studio units would be built for every $100 million in public subsidies. On the other hand, for adaptive reuse co-living units the cost per unit would be $167,400; and for every $100 million of public subsidy, 1,157 units could be created — about 3.8 times as many compared with newly built studios.
Alex Horowitz, Pew’s project director for the Housing Policy Initiative, said during a presentation of the research that the increased unit count was the “most exciting finding.”
“There’s a way for jurisdictions to get so much more housing — and well-located housing — at a much lower subsidy threshold than is the case for new-build apartments,” Horowitz said.
Sherman said he “absolutely agrees” the cost of production will be lower, but he said Sherman would need to review the research to see if it would be as low as the study estimated. Out of the 20 projects Sherman Associates has completed, they have never done a project like the one suggested by the study.
“We’ve never done one like this,” Sherman said. “It’s intriguing for us, because it aligns with our mission.”
link