By Mike Ege : sfstandard – excerpt

Assemblymember Matt Haney has weighed in on San Francisco’s Downtown recovery with new legislation to expedite projects that convert office space to housing.

The Office to Housing Conversion Act promises to make approval for conversion projects—which tend to be very complicated and expensive—automatic. It would also block municipalities from adding on additional fees and requirements.

The bill is based in part on the Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program, which offers qualifying projects in Calgary, Alberta, a dollar amount per-square-foot grant provided they meet certain criteria. According to a Calgary Herald article, that city has converted over a million square feet of office space and is considering expanding uses for empty office buildings to hotels and schools…

The bill would also set up a special fund that could provide grants for most office-to-housing conversions; San Francisco has been exploring similar incentive plans. Haney’s bill would also mandate 10% of any housing units in qualifying projects to be set aside for low- or moderate-income households.

At least one local architect has identified a cohort of office buildings—pre-1950 buildings less than nine stories tall—as relatively accessible candidates for conversion…(more)