Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Office building to Co-Housing Conversions

[David Heimann (heimann.david]

Hello Bryan,

           I definitely object when people refer to "the current economic
climate", with an implication that the current economy is in trouble.  With
only 3% inflation and 3% unemployment, the economy is in a very good
position!

          Of course, I don't know your personal economic situation, so I
don't know what you can or cannot do personally.  However, all the best in
your endeavors!

Regards,
David
JP Cohousing
Boston, MA

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>
>
> Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2024 07:34:20 -0600
> From: Bryan Bowen <bryan [at] caddispc.com>
> To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
> Cc: "Chapel, Thomas (CDC/NCIPC/DOP)" <tkc4 [at] cdc.gov>
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Office building to Co-Housing Conversions
> Message-ID:
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> CAM-C15MNJ+oJUTvwUe6J7uDyQyvp-TczsRRkj5ms4VA2JeuQzQ [at] mail.gmail.com>
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>
> We have looked at it (converting office buildings to cohousing) a few times
> and most recently went pretty far on one in the design process in the DC
> area before falling apart.
>
> The cost to buy plus the cost to remodel are usually more than the
> justifiable sales prices, and as a result it might be more cost effective
> to build from scratch (plus you get what you want). That could be different
> if the building is easy to permit/remodel, the cost of the office building
> is low enough, or if you already own it and have it sitting empty. So,
> partnering with the building owners or developers could work.
>
> There are also a lot of land use or building code requirements that can be
> triggered by this "change of use" so there are due diligence efforts that
> need to be understood. For example, in Boulder, we'd need to redo the land
> use entitlement process, bring the site into compliance with current
> development standards, change exterior lighting, replace all of the windows
> and mechanical systems to meet energy code, add irrigation water taps, add
> insulation, replace all lighting, meet egress and accessibility standards,
> etc in addition to what people think of as the remodeling necessary to turn
> office into units. We looked at one in Denver that didn't make it past
> these hurdles.
>
> In brighter news, we're converting a 11 bedroom 13,000 sf mansion in Denver
> into a 17 bed affordable housing cooperative and that's looking like it has
> legs.
>
> Eastern Village Cohousing is rad, btw. There are great examples of this
> sort of retrofit cohousing but I'm not sure that we could pull it off in
> this current economic climate.
>
> - b
>
> BRYAN BOWEN    |    PRINCIPAL   |    AIA   |    APA    |   LEED AP
>
> *caddis collaborative*
> 1521 Easy Rider Lane #102
> Boulder, CO 80304
> 303 443 3629
> caddispc.com
>
>