The office-to-residential conversation continues to permeate the industry as companies and employees are changing their use of office space. Companies are reducing their physical footprint and flexible work continues to remain in practice, creating negative impacts on the small businesses and hospitality industry of Downtown San Francisco. All of this is exacerbated by a lack of economic diversity and not enough workforce housing. Could conversion of these empty office spaces be a solution?

In a first-of-its-kind study, ULI San Francisco and SPUR, in partnership with Gensler and HR&A Advisors, explored this question. The study investigated the physical suitability and financial feasibility of such projects, a summary of which you may read more about in the March 2023 study. A full report to come later this year.

The executive summary stirred up a lot of discussion about office-to-residential conversions in San Francisco. Check out the following articles and op-eds to read more about the ongoing debate:

• San Francisco Chronicle: S.F.’s empty office space could hold 11,000 new homes — but only with City Hall’s help, report says (3/28/2023)
• Planetizen: 11,000 Housing Units Possible with S.F. Office Conversions, Study Says (3/29/2023)
• The Real Deal: More than 10K residences could replace SF’s empty office towers (3/29/2023)
• CoStar: San Francisco Joins Other Cities in Looking at Clearing Way for More Office Conversions (3/29/2023)
• San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco could be on the verge of collapse. What should California do about it? (4/1/2023)
• The San Francisco Standard:  ‘Costly.’ ‘Complex.’ SF Supervisors Hear Warnings on Office-to-Housing Conversions (4/3/2023)
• San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. supervisor wants to cut fees for office-to-housing conversions (4/4/2023)