The New Residential Conversion Thread

Suffolk's Plan to Convert Downtown Office to Dorm Approved​

“Located Downtown, this project will convert the office building at 101 Tremont Street into 280 units of student housing as part of an amendment to Suffolk University’s IMP. The project will maintain the current ground floor retail/restaurant space, and add amenity space for students……”

101 tremont

https://www.bldup.com/posts/suffolk-s-plan-to-convert-downtown-office-to-dorm-approved
 
stick n move said:

Milk Street Office Set for Conversion Acquired for $9.5M​

“Dinosaur Capital Partners has closed on the acquisition of the top 10 floors at 31 Milk Street for $9,550,000. The developer plans to convert the office space to 110 apartments, a mix of 40 studios, 50 one-bedroom units, and 20 two-bedroom units.”

31 milk

https://www.bldup.com/posts/milk-street-office-set-for-conversion-acquired-for-9-5m
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Across the street from one of the top 3 coffee shops in the City (Ogawa). Would be pretty great!
 
“Since its introduction in October 2023, the City of Boston has received 14 applications to the Office to Residential Conversion Program! What impact will this have on the city?

The program was created to proactively: address higher Class B & C office vacancy; create more housing downtown; increase retail foot traffic post-pandemic; and preserve historic commercial buildings.

These 14 applications have the potential to convert 620,000 SF of office space into 690 new units of housing, and preserve 18 historic buildings in Boston. That could mean more than 1,400 new residents living downtown, creating a more vibrant neighborhood!

The current applicants.”

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www.facebook.com

Planning Department - City of Boston

Since its introduction in October 2023, the City of Boston has received 14 applications to the Office to Residential Conversion Program! What impact will this have on the city? The program was...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
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Permit Issued to Convert Downtown Office to Residential Units​

“A permit valued at $4,249,469 has been pulled to convert the office building at 47-49 Winter Street across from The Boston Common to residential units. The existing office space on floors 2-8 will be renovated to create 14 residential units. The existing unoccupied first-floor retail at 129A Tremont St will remain.”

https://www.bldup.com/posts/permit-issued-to-convert-downtown-office-to-residential-units

47-49 winter st.
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Link

-In my opinion one of the best things about these conversions is that it should guarantee these old buildings dont get demolished and redeveloped. This office space was sitting vacant. Converting to residential will keep a lot of these old buildings around for a long time.
 
Great building, and for many it forms one side of the gateway to downtown Boston. That being said...I don't think I'd want to live on that corner in its current state. There is a straight line from the fountain on the Common through most of Winter/Summer that needs a lot more enforcement. Hopefully more foot traffic will bring some attention to it.
 
Justbuildit said:
Oh hell yes. Other than a few older Post Office Square buildings, 45 Milk St, and the Winthrop Building at Water/Washington, this one is on my bingo card for buildings that are perfect for conversion. For those who don't know the area, it's just off Post Office Square and is near a few restaurants/coffee joints and bars. Very handsome building as well. With the existing applicant at Washington/Water and a few proposals down near Liberty Square, these projects could do a ton for foot traffic in the Financial District.
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Love to see my dreams come true. 12 Post Office Square up for residential conversion. 70 new units added to the pipeline, total cost estimate of $21.5M. Ends up at just over $300,000 per unit.

www.bostonglobe.com

Office building on edge of Post Office Square is being prepped for apartments - The Boston Globe

Developers are hoping to turn a six-story office building in the heart of Boston’s Financial District into a 70-unit apartment complex.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

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Some really great, classic buildings going through this process. I wonder how these will price out when they come on the market. I'd love to live in a space like this one or the building on the corner of Winter and Tremont streets, for example, but will others see these as desirable if they aren't shiny and new?
 
HenryAlan said:
Some really great, classic buildings going through this process. I wonder how these will price out when they come on the market. I'd love to live in a space like this one or the building on the corner of Winter and Tremont streets, for example, but will others see these as desirable if they aren't shiny and new?
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But they will be shiny and new -- inside, where it matters for living. And classic outside. They will sell for a premium (compared to new mid-rise construction -- not suggesting they will beat a penthouse on the 60th floor).
 
stick n move said:
-In my opinion one of the best things about these conversions is that it should guarantee these old buildings dont get demolished and redeveloped. This office space was sitting vacant. Converting to residential will keep a lot of these old buildings around for a long time.
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I certainly agree that conversions of these largely empty buildings is better than having empty buildings at risk of neglect or demo, that being said I think we need to be realistic that these conversions to residential are not going to give downtown crossing the jolt it needs. Office workers occupied these class b and c buildings at much higher density than potential residential occupants. Office workers often leave the office every day to grab a cup a coffee, grab lunch and sometimes a happy hour drink or two. When you convert to residential the number of people who occupy a given building is much less when used as office space and my guess is that officer workers were spending a lot more money daily at surrounding businesses for coffee, lunch and drinks than full time residents ever will. Mixed use (i.e., more residential) is healthier and more sustainable in the long run for downtown, but it's not going to be an economic replacement for the loss of office workers, post Covid, and their spending habits for the foreseeable future.
 
commuter guy said:
I certainly agree that conversions of these largely empty buildings is better than having empty buildings at risk of neglect or demo, that being said I think we need to be realistic that these conversions to residential are not going to give downtown crossing the jolt it needs. Office workers occupied these class b and c buildings at much higher density than potential residential occupants. Office workers often leave the office every day to grab a cup a coffee, grab lunch and sometimes a happy hour drink or two. When you convert to residential the number of people who occupy a given building is much less when used as office space and my guess is that officer workers were spending a lot more money daily at surrounding businesses for coffee, lunch and drinks than full time residents ever will. Mixed use (i.e., more residential) is healthier and more sustainable in the long run for downtown, but it's not going to be an economic replacement for the loss of office workers, post Covid, and their spending habits for the foreseeable future.
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While true generally, most of these conversion candidates have been largely vacant longer than Covid - in the case of this specific building, it looks like that leasing sign had been up since at least 2017. As such, some people is better than no people, but in general you're right ... your case is actually proven by the extant prior cycle conversions on Winter which haven't exactly moved the needle on activation. Those would include, but isn't limited to, 8, 17-19, 29, 43, 40-46, 48-50 Winter St. Now that I'm looking into it, I'm actually surprised by how much of Winter St is apparently already residential, and even if those buildings have occupied upper floors, you'd never know it from the street. That's probably one of the most highly transited pedestrian segments in the state, and it still feels like it needs some serious attention at street level.
 
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totally anecdotal evidence, but new downtown residents probably behave like the rest of us, they get their coffee primarily from Keurig/coffee maker in their own apartment/condo and nightlife involves firing up Netflix on the TV etc. To move the needle in downtown crossing and replace the disposable spending of thousands of offices workers I would guess we need new housing units in the multiples of thousands not dozens or even hundreds...
 
YES! Redfin shows one listing at $3,325/mo for 450 sf, not available until 8/1/25. Not a steal by any means, but 3(?) of these units are going to be restricted affordable, so not surprised on the market pricing. Not a lot of comps in the area, so we'll see how and if these units move. There's another layout on Zillow but no pricing there. Great to see these starting to roll out.


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commuter guy said:
totally anecdotal evidence, but new downtown residents probably behave like the rest of us, they get their coffee primarily from Keurig/coffee maker in their own apartment/condo and nightlife involves firing up Netflix on the TV etc. To move the needle in downtown crossing and replace the disposable spending of thousands of offices workers I would guess we need new housing units in the multiples of thousands not dozens or even hundreds...
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Relatedly, but I don't think the conversion program would have been as successful if Roche Bros hadn't taken over the Filene's Basement space in 2015. Downtown is less appealing if it's a food desert. The next closest option is Trader Joes in Seaport.
 
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