California Seeks To Fill Empty Offices

Highlights

• With the growth of remote work and increasing office vacancy rates at the confluence of a deepening housing crisis, it is impossible to miss the potential opportunities of office-to-residential conversions across California.
• Many cities are looking to support conversions to help revitalize their downtown areas, increase property values and increase tax revenues. Some cities already have adaptive reuse ordinances in place, and others are looking to expand their programs or adopt new ordinances to streamline processing and potentially reduce impact fees. It is an important time to track and advocate for useful processes.
• There is a range of state legislation that may help facilitate conversions. Current laws include Assembly Bill (AB) 2097, which reduces parking for properties close to transit, as well as the Mills Act, which provides property tax abatement for historic building restoration and maintenance. State funding for conversions has also