White House announces push to convert empty commercial buildings to housing [View all]

[babylonsister]

White House announces push to convert empty commercial buildings to housing
by Brett Samuels - 10/27/23 6:00 AM ET


The Biden administration on Friday announced federal financing and other incentives designed to convert high-vacancy commercial buildings in downtown spaces around the country into residential use in an attempt to increase housing supply.

Administration officials said office space vacancies have hit a 30-year high, while housing costs remain high for millions of Americans and there is a shortage of affordable housing units.

Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, said on a call with reporters that converting empty commercial buildings into residential use represents a “win-win” opportunity to simultaneously revitalize downtown areas with unused office space while increasing affordable housing units.

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The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is releasing new guidance on how the Community Development Block Ground fund can be used to boost housing supply, while the Department of Transportation is releasing guidance to make it easier for transit agencies to transfer properties that are no longer needed, such as underutilized storage facilities that could be converted to affordable housing.

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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4278387-white-house-converting-commercial-buildings-housing/