Compared to other major metro areas, we are doing much better. The buildings in the ME Mall area aka Aetna, BCBS, Southborough, and other campus style buildings must be repurposed into housing as one option. The TD Bank building in Falmouth is empty. Boston and NYC are hurting when it comes to office towers. I don't think working in the office full time is coming back anytime soon.
General Portland Discussion
- Thread starter nomc
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Cosakita18
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It's -very- hard to convert a big suburban office building into housing. They have totally different floorplates which at best results in a lot of windowless interior rooms. Plus, retrofitting plumbing / electrical systems is a complex and costly endeavor.
The trend going forward is more companies leasing smaller spaces as hybrid work becomes the norm. The fact that suburban office vacancies are so much higher is indicative of bad land use and low desirability for these types of spaces. Companies recognize that most workers want to be close to the amenities of downtown.
markhb
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Damn... that's going to be a hell of a remodel! The place is full of low-clearance doorways, load-bearing brick walls, the whole shebang. Literally, it's got these 18-inch thick interior solid brick walls that massive (maybe 6x12?) 150-year old wooden beams (I believe I've seen one photo showing that the building predates the 1866 Great Fire) just rest on like they're on a shelf. Auto Europe and their former owner did a great job preserving the place when they did the renovation, but at the expense of having to shake bits of ancient wood out of your keyboard when you came in in the morning.