Mayor Adams plans to turn empty NYC offices into 20,000 new apartments

It seems that New York City has regained its status as the county’s economic and cultural capital after facing many hardships in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, as the city bounces back from the pandemic, many office buildings remain half-empty. NYC Mayor Eric Adams proposed a plan to convert underused offices into new housing units. 

Adams’ proposal includes 11 concrete actions that would help ease zoning restrictions and offer tax breaks to property owners. The new plan, which includes recommendations from the 12-member Office Adaptive Reuse Task Force, could pave the way for the conversion of 136 million square feet of office space. This initiative might help create as many as 20,000 new homes over the next decade that will house 40,000 New Yorkers. 

“The need for housing is desperate, and the opportunity offered by underused office space is clear — we know what we need to do,” said Mayor Adams. “These concrete reforms would clear red tape and create the incentives to create the housing we need for New Yorkers at all income levels.”

The pandemic-induced rise in remote work allowed employers to keep their workers safe when COVID-19 took over New York City in the spring of 2020. Almost three years later, it became clear that remote work became an essential part of the corporate culture. In the fourth quarter of 2022, NYC office leasing saw one of the sharpest declines, falling 43 percent from the same time in 2021, Commercial Observer reports. 

Mayor Eric Adams has advocated for the conversion of office buildings into housing units for quite some time. The new proposal will target Midtown Manhattan, Downtown Flushing, and the Bronx Hub. The plan calls to make changes to state law and city zoning requirements, expand flexible conversion regulations to all high-density commercial districts, and allow office buildings to convert to a broader range of housing types, including supportive housing. 

Although it is up to the property owners to decide whether or not to turn their office buildings into residential units, the city hopes that the proposed changes will speed up the conversion process and make it more cost-effective. Adams also suggested offering tax incentives to those who decide to participate in this initiative. The new plan aligns with the mayor's "moonshot" goal to create 500,000 new housing units by 2032. 

Resources:

“Mayor Adams Unveils Recommendations to Convert Underused Offices into Homes,” (NYC, 2023)

“Mayor Adams unveils plans to turn NYC offices into 20,000 new apartments,” by David Brand (Gothamist, 2023)

“Behind mayor Eric Adams' decision to turn empty NYC offices into new apartments,” by Anna Rahmanan (Time Out, 2023)

“NYC’s plan to convert office space into housing could create 20,000 homes,” by Michelle Cohen (6sqft, 2023)

“Adams announces plan to convert 20K units,” by TRD Staff (The Real Deal, 2023)