Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.
Several downtown Pittsburgh office buildings are being converted to housing, reports Ryan Deto in Axios, which will result in roughly 1,300 new housing units. About one fourth of the units will be subsidized for low-income families.
“Six other office-to-housing conversions are in the pipeline for Downtown — including the iconic 582-foot Gulf Tower and the 18-story former FHL Bank Building — said Kyle Chintalapalli, chief economic development officer for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey.”
Because many of Pittsburgh’s office buildings were built in the early 20th century before the rise of the open-plan office, they are more appropriate for conversion to housing than newer buildings. According to Chintalapalli, there are two dozen additional downtown buildings that could be converted but do not have funding committed. Downtown Pittsburgh has 91 percent office buildings and 9 percent apartment towers, a lower rate of residential buildings than most downtowns.
FULL STORY: These offices are being converted to housing
Office Conversion Sees No Sign of Slowing
The adaptive reuse of office buildings for residential and other uses will grow by as much as 63 percent in 2024 over last year.
Office conversion is picking up steam in San Francisco
The city spent five years streamlining approval processes and reducing fees to encourage more adaptive reuse of vacant office buildings.
With Zero Office Conversions in Four Years, San Francisco Pins Hopes on New Special Financing District
City leaders hope the new incentive will spur the redevelopment of some of the city’s 30,000 square feet of vacant office space into housing.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association