Beginning in 2022, SPUR has been conducting policy research and advocacy in San Francisco to transform Downtown into a 24-hour, mixed-use hub that is welcoming to all Bay Area residents and visitors. The office vacancy rate in Downtown San Francisco has climbed to 35%, according to Jones Lang Lasalle, a real estate firm. Although the premium office spaces continue to be very attractive for companies, the older and less amenitized Class B and Class C office buildings are harder to lease. This presents an opportunity to convert these obsolete buildings into apartments to both reanimate the core of the city and provide housing for more people in an area rich in transit, jobs, culture, recreation, and entertainment.
In October 2023, SPUR, in partnership with ULI San Francisco, published a policy report that analyzed the physical suitability of office buildings for redevelopment as housing and tested the financial feasibility of conversion projects. We found that, under the policy and economic conditions of that time, projects were not financially feasible because the city’s requirements resulted in extremely high development costs. Our report laid out six policy imperatives for realizing office-to-housing conversions on a large scale, addressing regulatory and financial constraints.
We are gratified to see that since the release of our report and subsequent advocacy from SPUR, the development community, and other partners, City leaders have implemented our team's core recommendations. Learn more about what has happened legislatively, and what still needs to happen for us to see these projects take off in San Francisco.
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