ULI San Francisco is excited to formally announce our partnership with SPUR to analyze the feasibility of the conversion of office buildings in Downtown San Francisco to residential uses.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, San Francisco’s Financial District and South of Market neighborhoods have struggled with the lack of workers returning to their offices on a regular basis. Many of the city’s buildings sit underused, or even empty, which is having a significant impact on the revitalization of SF’s downtown core. The widespread office vacancies, brought on by the unprecedented events of the last two years, present a unique opportunity for developers, owners, and city leaders in the Bay Area, and from across the United States, to rethink and reimagine the uses of many commercial building uses in downtowns.

ULI SF and SPUR are working together to assess existing Downtown office buildings in SF that might be suitable candidates for conversion. We will conduct an analysis of the financial and regulatory feasibility of office to residential conversions and provide recommendations for policies and incentives for the city and the state to consider to facilitate conversions. Our findings will culminate in a report and program in the Spring of 2023, jointly presented by ULI SF and SPUR. Gensler and HR&A Advisors are supporting the first phase of this work through the identification of potential conversion candidates and analyzing market feasibility.

As we move forward, we would love to hear from members of ULI SF and SPUR who are interested in lending their expertise to this work or would like to learn about this topic. If you would like to be contacted for your expertise or notified once the findings are published, please complete this interest form.

If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected].

Image courtesy of Hardik Pandya via unsplash.