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Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

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Re: Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

#241

Post by ke88y »

teeray wrote: post #226
ke88y wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I toured a piece of property at the border of Charlestown and Somerville near a big T stop. There was an empty lot next to the tracks that was owned by the MBTA on paper. But de facto, the neighbor and was clearly using the entire massive lot as an extended back yard (they even had a garden shed and paved parking on the MBTA owned lot). Looked up the property records. Either a HIGHLY coincidental name clash, or there…

> they even had a garden shed and paved parking on the MBTA owned lot Sounds like that neighbor has a solid adverse possession argument to make.

Unlikely. There's a specific exclusion for railroad land in MA's adverse possession statute.

Re: Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

#242

Post by ke88y »

ke88y wrote: post #189
natdempk wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will probably get sniped by someone who actually knows what they're talking about (please correct me if I'm wrong :D), but my impression of the T issues is less a funding issue, and more a competency/corruption issue. We're building above-ground rail at underground rail prices for one example problem.

I toured a piece of property at the border of Charlestown and Somerville near a big T stop. There was an empty lot next to the tracks that was owned by the MBTA on paper. But de facto, the neighbor and was clearly using the entire massive lot as an extended back yard (they even had a garden shed and paved parking on the MBTA owned lot). Looked up the property records. Either a HIGHLY coincidental name clash, or there…

e: the above is just my perception, I don't actually know if there's a land use agreement etc happening, but it certainly has exactly the sort of sketchy appearance at least for me.

Re: Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

#243

Post by jonathanlb »

worthless-trash wrote: post #224
ruined wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is how you end up with mass mortality events

Aren't we all subject to death though ?

If it's in your power to prevent people from dying tragically in a burning building- you wouldn't?

Re: Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

#244

Post by BenFranklin100 »

This is a poor use of time and resources. A much better - and likely cheaper solution in the long run - is to relax Boston’s onerous zoning laws that forbid the construction of most new apartments.

The construction of plentiful new apartments near and in the urban core has the added benefit of increasing demand for existing urban office space. It also increases the city tax base and the subsequent short work commutes is good for the environment and quality of life.

Re: Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

#245

Post by BenFranklin100 »

natdempk wrote: post #106
MildRant wrote: post #5

I think this is fantastic. Boston desperately needs more housing. Let's get some increased funding for the T as well while we are at it.

I will probably get sniped by someone who actually knows what they're talking about (please correct me if I'm wrong :D), but my impression of the T issues is less a funding issue, and more a competency/corruption issue. We're building above-ground rail at underground rail prices for one example problem.

You’re not wrong. Public sector unions in MA are corrupt. It’s an unfortunate side effect of MA’s one party rule. Unions have the Democratic party in their hip pocket and no politician dare cross them.

Re: Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

#246

Post by btbuildem »

ktosobcy wrote: post #124
twelvechairs wrote: post #112

Its a delicate balance with these things. Residential brings life to the monotonous business areas and helps to improve housing supply (often not by an awful lot) but on the other hand, once you lose office sites they are generally gone forever (because of multiple ownership you can almost never convert from residential back to office) and even though the office market is taking a big hit from working from home / rem…

I never understood the need to concentrate all the offices in the single focal point of the city. And currently with WFH it seems to make even more sense to distribute office spaces in local "co-working" spaces and in the end mix residential with work making it intertwined (zoning in the USA, from what I understand, is weird as hack…)

I think it's a hold-over from the age of factories and paper offices, when people had to be in one place to do the work. White collar work can now be mostly distributed, but light and heavy industry still needs groups of people working on site. Very different locations though, you don't see much manufacturing happening downtown.

Re: Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

#247

Post by 01100011 »

mkoubaa wrote: post #187
01100011 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you interpret my comment as suggesting that it does?

I did. Was that a misunderstanding on my part ?

I'm trying to say that I hope we do not stop putting significant effort towards housing once we have fulfilled whatever quota we're trying to achieve. If we add units with converted office buildings, ADUs and other quick fixes, we may lose the drive to create dense, humane, pleasurable environments which we will need to coax folks back to efficient living in the urban areas(which must happen absent a serious commitment to carbon-neutral energy).

Re: Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

#248

Post by midoridensha »

CameronNemo wrote: post #237
lotsoweiners wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A little hyperbolic there my friend.

I agree. Life is possible in America. Just not particularly pleasant.

"Unlivable" isn't normally used in the literal sense. A nasty, unheated, rat-infested apartment, for instance, can be said to be "unlivable", though it really is possible to live there if you're desperate enough.

Re: Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

#249

Post by pierat »

eagleinparadise wrote: post #123
jimt1234 wrote: post #85

I'm confused. Why is this program necessary? If building owners are sitting on vacant space because the demand for office space has dropped, while the demand for housing continues to rise, aren't they already incentivized to convert to residential space just based on the market conditions? Not sure why the city has to subsidize the property owners.

Most office buildings are not architecturally feasible to convert to residential. In fact, because of zoning laws, many/most can't even be converted. Would you live in an apartment 15 feet wide and 50 feet deep? No. That's why most office buildings dont work You have to redo all the mechanical, plumbing, electric, and then entirely refinish the building. Its literally cheaper to build new than deal with the nightmare…

> Would you live in an apartment 15 feet wide and 50 feet deep? No. That's why most office buildings dont work

Yes. I lived in this with my SO for 9 years. And I lived with 200 other families like this on small plots of land.

Its called a "Mobile Home".

Re: Boston mayor announces residential conversion program for office buildings

#250

Post by BenFranklin100 »

eagleinparadise wrote: post #123
jimt1234 wrote: post #85

I'm confused. Why is this program necessary? If building owners are sitting on vacant space because the demand for office space has dropped, while the demand for housing continues to rise, aren't they already incentivized to convert to residential space just based on the market conditions? Not sure why the city has to subsidize the property owners.

Most office buildings are not architecturally feasible to convert to residential. In fact, because of zoning laws, many/most can't even be converted. Would you live in an apartment 15 feet wide and 50 feet deep? No. That's why most office buildings dont work You have to redo all the mechanical, plumbing, electric, and then entirely refinish the building. Its literally cheaper to build new than deal with the nightmare…

It’s probably cheaper just to allow new construction. Boston has plenty of underdeveloped land that could be converted to multistory residential, but the city’s zoning laws forbid most new residential construction.
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