PDuring the pandemic, the idea had arisen in San Francisco, almost as a joke. All these empty offices, deserted by employees, why not convert them into housing for the homeless, omnipresent in the city center, or for all those mistreated by the extravagance of rents?
Real estate professionals had quickly showered the utopias. Transforming workspaces into places of life and conviviality is more complicated – and expensive – that it seems. Where are the kitchens, the bathrooms, the miles of extra piping installed? Good intentions don’t get you far if the plumbing doesn’t follow.
Three years later, the idea is back in force. The pandemic is over, but the homeless are still there, as is the shortage of affordable housing. And the downtown of San Francisco remains half empty. According to a survey by the Urban Displacement Project (Urban Displacement Project) led by academic Karen Chapple, the ex-capital of triumphant tech came in last place, at the end of 2022, out of the 62 cities studied for the return to activity in the center. The researchers measured the traffic using the geolocation of mobile phones. San Francisco recorded a 70% drop in activity compared to March 2020, or 150,000 fewer passers-by.
Under pressure from the municipality, which is seeing its finances collapse (after a surplus of more than 100 million dollars in 2021-2022, or 91 million euros, the next budget is announced with a deficit of 291 million dollars ), business leaders ordered a mandatory return to the office, at least three days a week. But employees are dragging their feet: a third remain in telework. The wave of layoffs has deepened feelings of desertion: 20,000 tech jobs have disappeared in San Francisco and Silicon Valley since June 2022.
Heavy Californian bureaucracy
Before the pandemic, San Francisco had one of the lowest real estate vacancy rates in the country. Today it is the reverse. Nearly 30% of offices and 27% of commercial spaces are empty. While the banks are worried about who will repay the mortgages, the solution seems to have been found: since we work at home, why not transform our old office into housing?
On April 4, San Francisco Mayor London Breed proposed a plan to facilitate the conversion of offices into housing. The town planning code would be changed. The parking and green space requirements, in force for residential buildings, would be suspended. A firm of architects mandated by the municipality has already selected 12 buildings for a pilot conversion project, which would put 2,700 homes on the market. And other uses are being studied: transforming offices into laboratories for biotechnology, the only sector still growing, or even into university residences.
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