Have you noticed some of the empty office space around town? Office vacancies are at 19.38% as of 2022, slightly lower than San Antonio’s 2022 office vacancy rate of 22.32%. Compare those numbers to the national office vacancy rate, which was 18.2% as of November 2023. One possible use for vacant offices? Affordable housing.
Recently, the White House released a new plan to convert commercial buildings into residential housing — affordable housing in particular. Resources will be made available from 20+ programs across multiple agencies, including the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
We’re talking below-market loans, grants, and tax credits... all available to help take advantage of preexisting buildings to make more affordable housing.
Projects currently underway
The 31-story Tower Life building into 230 mixed-income apartments (plus retail space) has been the highest profile office conversion project in San Antonio in the last year.
Other projects in various stages of development include the Travis Building, the Express-News building, and the Continental Hotel building, according to San Antonio Express-News. Other projects, like the Riverview Towers redevelopment, will convert the buildings to hotels, not apartments.
Which vacant spaces would you like to see converted?
Have you passed an empty office building that would be a sweet apartment? How about some empty warehouses near public transportation that would make for a quick commute?
Tell us which spaces you’d like to see remade into housing, and we may feature your picks in an upcoming newsletter.
