A relative lack of conversions from office to residential—the adaptive reuse model driving the housing market in many urban areas—makes the Washington, D.C. region a perfect place to study the factors that make or break an adaptive reuse proposal.
Cities around the country have spent recent years converting old office buildings into residential uses. The wave of adaptive reuse projects in some local cases could be credited with creating entirely new residential neighborhoods.
"Yet despite considerable media coverage, office conversion has been comparatively limited in greater Washington," according to Payton Chung.
Chung cites research from a 2016 report by Jones Lang LaSalle that counted only 26 conversion projects in Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County, Fairfax County, and Arlington County combined. The whole D.C. region has completed "scarcely more" office conversions than the city of Baltimore alone.
According to Chung, the reasons for D.C.'s resistance to office conversions fit into two broad categories: a relatively healthier office market and a lack of specific incentives adaptive reuse. That could be about to change, however, as "Fairfax County and Montgomery County have recently commissioned studies to investigate office building adaptive reuse." In studying the issue, a couple of useful themes have emerged that can help determine the feasibility of adaptive reuse in other contexts, namely, location, price, and layout.
Chung's article goes into a lot more detail on each of those three considerations.
FULL STORY: Not every obsolete office building is cut out to become apartments
ADU Results Fall Short of Intentions in D.C. Region
Accessory dwelling unit regulations vary but results are consistently underwhelming in the D.C. region.
Comparing Transit Oriented Development in the D.C. Regional Rail System
Not all Metrorail station areas are zoned for transit oriented development.
Tax Abatements Could Spur Adaptive Reuse in Washington, D.C.
Faced with commercial vacancies around 11 percent and the prospect of new office supply coming online soon, D.C. stakeholders are pushing for a bill that would provide incentives for conversions of office buildings into residential units.
Study: Market-Rate Development Filters Into Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing
New research sheds new light on one of the most hotly debated questions in planning and development.
The End of Single-Family Zoning in California
Despite a few high-profile failures, the California State Legislature has approved a steady drumbeat of pro-development reforms that loosen zoning restrictions. The state raised the stakes on its zoning reforms this week.
Building on Jacobs: The City Emergent; Beyond Streets and Buildings
A science of cities reveals the way cities grow, and why.
Department of Planning & Urban Development
City of Oceanside
Town of Chapel Hill
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Edtalkradio
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Hillsborough County Public Schools
City of Raleigh
City of Laramie, Wyoming and Albany County Wyoming
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
