Conversions of existing buildings could upend America's built environment
The pandemic is expected to drastically reshape commercial real estate, leaving thousands of vacant and underused spaces nationwide. But some developers and investors are keen to seize the chance to convert those properties into other uses.Tom Acitelli of The New York Times investigates some of the ways in which office and commercial spaces may be rethought in coming years as conversions from previous uses facilitate a massive transformation within the American built environment on a scale that is largely without precedent. In this shift, sagging retail spaces are being converted to e-commerce fulfillment centers while offices are being converted to housing. Because the transformation necessarily involves buildings that are already built, the shift is prompting a reconsideration of price per square foot metrics currently used to guide real estate transactions.
The pandemic is expected to drastically reshape commercial real estate, leaving thousands of vacant and underused spaces nationwide. But some developers and investors are keen to seize the chance to convert those properties into other uses.
Tom Acitelli of The New York Times investigates some of the ways in which office and commercial spaces may be rethought in coming years as conversions from previous uses facilitate a massive transformation within the American built environment on a scale that is largely without precedent.
In this shift, sagging retail spaces are being converted to e-commerce fulfillment centers while offices are being converted to housing. Because the transformation necessarily involves buildings that are already built, the shift is prompting a reconsideration of price per square foot metrics currently used to guide real estate transactions.
