Speaker
Description
As Canadian cities respond to the growing challenges of post-pandemic economic adjustments and a housing affordability crisis, regeneration of vacant downtowns through adaptive reuse provides an opportunity to maximize economic and social benefits (Mohamed et al, 2017). Through the planning and design of adaptive reuse projects, planners have the opportunity to make a significant difference to socially beneficial smart growth and residential intensification. The benefits of office-to-homes conversion extend beyond the individual project, contributing to economic, social, and environmental value in the downtowns (Han et al., 2020).
The research focuses on reimagining downtowns in Canadian cities through office-to-homes conversion. Restoring housing affordability requires the construction of 5.6 million homes by 2030, so the three levels of government have adopted a more proactive approach to increase the share of affordable housing (currently less than 5%). Within this context, we address a vital area for urban planning that can contribute to more inclusive and equitable cities in Canada (Tsenkova, 2021). The research has two interrelated objectives:
1. Identify innovative practices for office-to-homes conversion for affordable housing in downtowns;
2. Explore new planning strategies and instruments adopted by municipalities to support the process.
The methodological approach is based on literature review and critical analysis of innovative urban practices of adaptive reuse for affordable housing using a social sustainability framework. The review is instrumental for the development of a robust analytical framework for comparative analysis of planning and design strategies to evaluate office-to-homes conversions. Eight conceptually appropriate case studies in six cities are selected using environmental scan of web-based resources from urban research think tanks, affordable housing organisations, and urban planning consultancies. This benchmarking exercise complements interview data to identifies generalizable and scalable policies, as well as place and context-dependent design strategies.
It comes as no surprise that in adaptive reuse projects, the economic sustainability and viability is critical, influenced by fiscal and regulatory instruments, such as land value, financing, taxes and rate of return of investments (CUI, 2023). This is a capital-intensive process, but it is possible to benefit from the incentives, grants and planning tools in the housing policy realm to achieve important economic synergies. Based on findings from Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Ottawa, our research argues that office-to-residential conversions are one potential strategy for downtown revitalization. The public interest in conversion and the potential beneficiaries must be clearly defined to justify financial support and a variety of other planning and fiscal instruments to make this process economically viable. It is still early in the shift to hybrid work and post-pandemic real estate market adjustment to determine if the office-to-homes conversion in Canadian cities is a catalyst for successful revitalization (Moraci, 2020). However, with vacancy in downtown office markets exceeding 25-30%, governments need to consider the long-term viability of the adaptive reuse to address a massive deficit of affordable housing. Office-to-residential conversions are not a panacea, but a tool for more inclusive downtown revitalization through targeted support. We argue that mixed-income affordable housing in downtown locations serviced with transit, employment opportunities and amenities delivers multiple social, economic and environmental benefits. Conversions are a socially sustainable solution to the twin dilemmas of excess office space and a lack of affordable housing, but just how viable they are economically depends on the specific conditions in each real estate market.
Our research poses critical questions: How do we scale up this housing innovation by design? How much public sector intervention catalyzes office-to-homes conversions and triggers a socially sustainable transformation of downtowns? If so, what kind of design intervention is needed to implement these ideas in practice?
References
Canadian Urban Institute (CUI). (2023). The Case for Conversions. Understanding opportunities for conversions of office space to housing in Canadian downtowns. https://canurb.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Case-for-Conversions-FINAL_rev-June.pdf. Toronto: Canadian Urban Institute.
Foster, G. (2020). “Circular economy strategies for adaptive reuse of cultural heritage buildings to reduce environmental impacts.” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 152, 1-14.
Han, A.: Graham, R.: Tsenkova, S. (2020) “The Inside and Outside Game of Growth Management: Tracking Sprawl of Canada’s Largest Metropolitan Areas” Journal of Planning Education and Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X20937335
Moraci, F., Errigo, M. F., Fazia, C., Campisi, T., and Castelli, F. (2020). “Cities under Pressure: Strategies and Tools to Face Climate Change and Pandemic.” Sustainability 12, 7743. doi:10.3390/su12187743
Mohamed, R., Boyle, R., Yang, A. Y., & Tangari, J. (2017). “Adaptive reuse: A review and analysis of its relationship to the 3 Es of sustainability.” Facilities, 35(3/4), 138–154.
Tsenkova, S. (2021) (ed.) Cities and Affordable Housing: Planning, Design and Policy Nexus. New York: Routledge.
| Keywords | affordable housing, office-to-homes conversion, downtown revitalization, Canadian cities |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
