Adaptive Reuse
The Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity to Remake Downtown
Urban cores around the country were transforming into live, work, and play destinations before the pandemic. The pandemic was a setback for this transformation, but it could also be a rare opportunity. It’s up to city leadership to seize it.
NYC Mayor Proposes Office Conversion Plan
Proposed zoning updates that would make it easier to convert office buildings in commercial districts to housing and other uses could yield up to 20,000 new housing units in the next decade.
Houston Office Park Continues Adaptive Reuse Trend
The former ConocoPhillips campus, built as a self-sufficient complex complete with a lagoon and fitness center, will be repurposed into a mixed-use waterfront development.
Old San Diego Library to Become Shelter
The long-disused Central Library will accommodate 26 unhoused residents starting later this month.
D.C. Mayor Pushes for More Housing Downtown
Mayor Bowser wants to encourage adaptive reuse of office buildings and bring 100,000 new residents to the downtown core.
Chicago Sears Redevelopment To Include Medical Facility, Housing
Developers have announced details about the long-awaited renaissance of a shuttered West Side Sears store.
Adaptive Reuse No Magic Wand for Post-Pandemic Real Estate Woes
Pre-pandemic housing crisis, meet the post-pandemic office vacancy crisis.
Office Conversions More Popular Than Ever
The adaptive reuse of non-residential buildings has soared in recent years as demand for office space drops and the housing shortage deepens.
How Office Conversions Could Benefit San Francisco
The city could emulate Calgary, New York, and other cities in supporting office conversions as a way to boost floundering downtown economies and provide much-needed additional housing.
Chattanooga Plans to Convert Hotel to Supportive Housing
At a recent meeting, the city’s mayor urged the city council to support the effort to repurpose a derelict hotel into a permanent supportive housing complex.
Adaptive Reuse Booming in Pittsburgh
The city is seeing rapid growth in residential development in its downtown core, signaling a shift to accommodate a reduced need for office space and a renewed interest in mixed-use, transit-oriented neighborhoods.
Austin School District Properties Could Host Affordable Housing
The District is weighing early proposals to include housing units for teachers and staff in the redevelopment of a group of six ‘underutilized’ district properties.
Zoning Changes, Federal Funds Enable Adaptive Reuse Program in Pittsburgh
Funding and zoning changes are likely necessary but insufficient on their own, to borrow a phrase from Nolan Gray. Pittsburgh hopes to deploy both to spur adaptive reuse in the city.
D.C. Could Lead the Downtown Office Conversion Trend
Many urban cores around the country are faced with increasing office vacancies concurrently with a housing affordability crisis caused, at least in part, by a lack of supply. D.C. is particularly primed for a wave of adaptive reuse.
San Antonio Office Tower To Become Residential
With the building more than half vacant, the new owners of the Tower Life Building plan to convert the historic tower into residences that could include affordable housing.
Surveying the Rising Trend of Office-to-Residential Conversions
With office vacancies climbing and a stubborn supply crunch driving up the cost of housing, some downtowns have emerged at the forefront of a new wave of adaptive reuse.
Massive, Vacant L.A. Hospital To Become Affordable Housing
The historic building will be redeveloped with over 500 housing units and supportive services on site.
What Is Redevelopment?
Redevelopment includes all development projects that build new structures and land uses on a previously developed site. Understanding the nuances of redevelopment is critical for understanding the ways cities and communities change.
To Meet Housing Goals, California Cities Turn to Mall Redevelopment
As brick-and-mortar stores decline due to the rise of e-commerce, cities look to mall sites as ideal locations for new housing.
Pittsburgh’s Downtown Office Buildings Could Soon Become Housing
The city is proposing a $2.1 million boost to state and county efforts aimed at converting office buildings to affordable workforce housing.
Town of Reading
Meridian Consultants
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Piedmont, CA
City of Morganton
St. Louis County, MO
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.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
