City Hall & Albany Seek Ways to Convert Empty Offices into Affordable Housing

City Hall & Albany Seek Ways to Convert Empty Offices into Affordable Housing

 

By: Ilana Siyance

 

City Hall and Albany are both looking to find the best way to convert hotels and empty office spaces into affordable housing.

For years, housing experts have been looking for a way to increase affordable housing in New York City.  The problem was there was just no unused space.  Now, the pandemic seems to have opened up a rare opportunity, with vacancies left and right in commercial real estate as well as hotels.  The openings are a boon for housing advocates, but how to go about such a lofty and expensive ambition remains a concern.

 

As per Crain’s NY, some industry experts have been putting pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul to only allow old hotels to be converted to housing, but not old office space.  “This administration has to be looking at opportunities that can put people in leases and apartments within two years, and hotel conversions are one of the only ways it can happen on that timeline,” said Eric Rosenbaum, chief executive of Project Renewal, a nonprofit specializing in supportive housing. “A commercial building will be costly and time-consuming.”

 

For the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, Gov. Hochul laid out plans to convert Class B hotels. Her plan says that these hotels, which are usually older and offer fewer amenities, could have the certificate of occupancy converted to rent stabilized units, if they are within 800 feet of a residential district. Hochul also announced that regulations should be lifted to facilitate converting older office buildings constructed before 1980 into housing.  Many critics and even supporters say that Hochul’s plan will have a hard time meeting results unless zoning law are changed too.

 

In August, state Sen. Michael Gianaris gained a victory for housing with the ‘Housing Our Neighbors With Dignity Act’. A state fund was established to enable the purchase and conversion of distressed hotels and commercial properties into affordable housing.  Gianaris had hoped that some $2.2 billion would be made available for the act from the federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. So far, though, just $100 million has been earmarked for the housing bill.  Moreover, there was only one entity that applied to use the money.  “These projects are big and complex and take time,” said Gianaris’ spokesman.

 

Crain’s reported that the city is also making its own efforts.  Mayor Eric Adams has voiced support for converting commercial and hotel space into affordable housing. His goal is to convert some 25,000 units, many of them outside of Manhattan.  He also wants to update zoning laws.  Last month, the City Council created a task force  to study the best way to convert buildings into affordable housing.