Reply to Doom loop in cities - Commercial real estate

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[quote=Anonymous]People need to understand that most of these 1960s, 70s and 80s era commercial office buildings are not easily converted to residential.  It isn't like taking an old industrial warehouse and creating cool lofts---these are spaces with 8 foot ceilings, which no one wants anymore in residential buildings (or even in new office, for that matter).  Many of the office buildings that age were constructed with post-tension concrete slabs where it is difficult and expensive to install the necessary plumbing stacks for kitchens and bathrooms because the cabling running through the concrete has to be navigated around lest you cut it and compromise the integrity of the slab.  The column structure was designed for office use; when you reconfigure the buildings you wind up with long, dark, narrow units.
Sure, there ARE buildings where this can be done---corner properties where there is more light, e.g.  And there are a few conversion projects (around L and M in the 1400 and 1500 blocks) going on, so we will soon see if there is a market for it.  But---because of the physical constraints I just described coupled with the valuation/lender/owner conundrums described by a PP above---this is not some quick solution to the empty office buildings.[/quote]

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