We (the UK) desperately need these empty units to be converted to housing. We're short of all forms of housing: emergency shelter (eg, for homeless people in winter) emergency temporary housing...
We (the UK) desperately need these empty units to be converted to housing. We're short of all forms of housing:
emergency shelter (eg, for homeless people in winter) emergency temporary housing (for people fleeing abuse, for vulnerable people unlawfully evicted), shared housing[1], single flats, accommodation for small families, accommodation for older people.
[1] benefits rules mean that any single person under 35 is expected to be living in shared accommodation.
There have been multiple previous threads on here as to why most commercial buildings can't be converted into residential. In summary, the shape and floor plate size is not conducive to the...
There have been multiple previous threads on here as to why most commercial buildings can't be converted into residential. In summary, the shape and floor plate size is not conducive to the requirements of residential housing.
I serve on the board of a non-profit affordable housing organization and we continually evaluate this for commercial properties in our city as they become available.
Guess I'm about to rehash some prior discussions that I haven't seen. I can think of plenty of reasons why refurbing commercial buildings into residences would be less than ideal, but no reasons...
Guess I'm about to rehash some prior discussions that I haven't seen. I can think of plenty of reasons why refurbing commercial buildings into residences would be less than ideal, but no reasons why it can't be done.
It can be done, but would likely require demolishing and rebuilding the entire unit. The question then becomes: who pays for it? Developers look at that and see that it would take immense capital...
It can be done, but would likely require demolishing and rebuilding the entire unit. The question then becomes: who pays for it? Developers look at that and see that it would take immense capital investment for not enough gain.
The government? If you want them to do it, that’s just a matter of voting. But it’s not as if the government can spend willy nilly either. Demolishing a tower is extremely expensive. Building a tower is also extremely expensive. Combined, it’s expensive^2 .
We (the UK) desperately need these empty units to be converted to housing. We're short of all forms of housing:
emergency shelter (eg, for homeless people in winter) emergency temporary housing (for people fleeing abuse, for vulnerable people unlawfully evicted), shared housing[1], single flats, accommodation for small families, accommodation for older people.
[1] benefits rules mean that any single person under 35 is expected to be living in shared accommodation.
There have been multiple previous threads on here as to why most commercial buildings can't be converted into residential. In summary, the shape and floor plate size is not conducive to the requirements of residential housing.
I serve on the board of a non-profit affordable housing organization and we continually evaluate this for commercial properties in our city as they become available.
Guess I'm about to rehash some prior discussions that I haven't seen. I can think of plenty of reasons why refurbing commercial buildings into residences would be less than ideal, but no reasons why it can't be done.
It can be done, but would likely require demolishing and rebuilding the entire unit. The question then becomes: who pays for it? Developers look at that and see that it would take immense capital investment for not enough gain.
The government? If you want them to do it, that’s just a matter of voting. But it’s not as if the government can spend willy nilly either. Demolishing a tower is extremely expensive. Building a tower is also extremely expensive. Combined, it’s expensive^2 .
Now now. Don't you know that's a lifestyle choice?
This is the swansong of a dying ideology. Or at least many of us are feeling that.
Previous discussions can also be found here.