In 2023, Boston, Massachusetts Mayor Michelle Wu launched a city-first Office-to-Residential Conversion Program. The initiative offers a tax deduction of up to 75% for up to 29 years for downtown office buildings that convert to residential use.
It’s an incentive that converts underutilized office spaces into something that serves the city’s residents, especially those who can’t afford skyrocketing rent prices.
To be eligible for the program, projects must comply with the state’s “stretch energy code” and affordability requirements, ensuring that the building conversions are both sustainable and accessible to a variety of incomes.
Fast forward about two years, and the first residents to benefit from the program are now moving into their new homes.
“This morning, we celebrated a huge milestone and welcomed the inaugural tenants of 281 Franklin Street — the first building to go through the City’s Office to Residential Conversion Program — to their new homes,” Wu shared in a Facebook post in early September.
She went on to say that once all units are transformed, these office spaces will provide homes to over a thousand new residents.
“In addition to this morning’s 15 units completed, there are 126 more under construction, and another 683 in the pipeline — nearly 825 total units,” she continued.
According to a recent city presentation, Boston has received 15 applications to create 762 housing units across 20 buildings and convert over 600,000 square feet of office space. Once they’re complete, the projects will bring an estimated 1,500 new people living downtown by the end of 2026.
Applications are due in December of this year, so this projected impact could grow even further in the coming months. The city’s goal is to convert a total of one million square feet.
“Boston is building the foundation for a stronger, more vibrant downtown through our dedication to housing, public safety, and economic growth,” Wu said in a press release this past July.
“As cities across the country look to revitalize and reenergize their downtown neighborhoods, in Boston, downtown foot traffic is up and commercial vacancies have been nearly cut in half with a focus on safety, business recruitment, and activation.”
According to The Boston Globe, the city’s downtown office vacancy sits around 20%, and is expected to grow to 30%, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Building owners are eager to finally get some use out of underutilized property.
Mark Callahan, the head of development for Copper Mill, another project in the program, told The Boston Globe it is “a great key to unlock the potential in this building because it’s been empty for a long time.”
Callahan is behind another project, which will create 45 new rental units — seven of which will be affordable — in a five-story building. About 500 square feet of restaurant or retail use will remain on the ground level.
In the newly opened Franklin Street development, a post office remains situated on the ground floor.
The goal is to revitalize the downtown area into a “vibrant, 18-hour mixed-use neighborhood,” which is typically described as a walkable area with diverse amenities and activities that are open to the public outside of standard business hours.
“We are thrilled to see the progress the Wu Administration has made on the Office-to-Residential conversion program in downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods,” Michael J. Nichols, president of the Downtown Boston Alliance, said in a statement earlier this year.
“The proximity our workforce lives to their downtown jobs is the single strongest correlating factor in catalyzing higher rates of office visitation, while adding residences near downtown offers improved local foot traffic to support downtown restaurants and retailers.
“This program is making a meaningful difference in providing workers and families with new opportunities to live in the heart of our city and continues to have our full support.”
Of the approved projects, 142 units will be income-restricted, and more construction is expected to begin this fall. In addition to the affordability perks, the city also expanded the program to include student and workforce-specific housing options.
Developers and business authorities seem pleased by the change.
As for Ernestine and George Tiongson, a couple who are one of the first to move into one of these developments? They seem happy, too.
“It allows you access to live in places where you couldn’t before. The downtown area is a super cool place; a lot of our favorite restaurants and cafes and bars are here,” Ernestine told CBS Boston. “So we’re just happy to be in the thick of it and be close to everything that we love.”
Wu even welcomed the couple to their new home with a houseplant.
“Every new home matters,” the mayor said. “Every new family moving into Boston and getting involved in our community makes a huge difference.”
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Header image courtesy of Mayor Michelle Wu/Facebook
