State to pump $15 million into office-to-housing conversion in Boston

Because we don't have a comprehensive planning process for housing in Boston, the project north of the Father Hart Bridge (and adjacent to the Commuter Rail platform) that would have minimal impact on traffic seems to be dead in the water, while the traffic nightmare south of the Sprague Street Bridge is moving forward. At least I assume it is. The only real sign of progress is the scrum of union picketers and their hired goons in BPD uniforms who block the sidewalk in the morning and force everyone else to walk in the street or cross unsafely to get by.

The T has been a raging dumpster fire since COVID and many of the moves to suburban office parks were about lower costs and being closer to where the employees live.

I think the property tax implications are more break-even than one might believe. Older downtown office buildings appear to pay ~$5/sq. ft. in tax annually, while relatively new apartment buildings (Radian at 120 Kingston, as an example) pay about $4/sq. ft. in annual tax. New buildings like 1 Congress are north of $10/sq. ft. in tax but that's lower than the tax per sq. ft. on most downtown condos. The property valuation per square foot on residential tends to be much, much higher than for office. The assessed value of 1 Congress is 13 times that of the grand penthouse unit in 1 Franklin (the Millennium Tower) but 1 Congress has 70 times the floor area of that single penthouse unit; ultimately the tax for that residential unit is close to 3x higher per square foot.

Those office workers are not coming back. Covid proved that many, many workers can be just as productive (and according to some studies, *more* productive) working outside of an office setting, and people just simply like avoiding long commutes. Many, including myself, have even moved great distances from their offices. (My office was on Tremont; my company has even given up the lease entirely at this point and I'm in Florida now!) Yes, some companies haven't gotten the memo yet and are still trying to strong-arm people back to the office, but as Dell's recent spectacular face-pant on the subject shows; it just ain't happening.

So it is a good idea for Boston to find a way to convert all that empty space into something that will actually generate tax revenues rather than hollow, mouldering buildings. And given the housing crisis, this is not a terrible idea.

So if values decline a bit, companies can dump their office parks in Burlington, Waltham...etc. and move into the city. That would allow tall condo & apartment buildings to take their place in those areas, which are also often close to commuter rail stations.

aren’t we seeing that suburban cities are in many cases hesitant, unwilling in others, to build more housing around CR?

That's a drop in the proverbial bucket. Pissing against the tide, as a friend of mine likes to say.

Citizens of the community do not have to be development professionals to have a voice in the planning and development of that community.

Do you really believe that? Everyone else should shut up?

For me the attractive part of this is the existing building is 10 stories at least. Even as a tear down you could propose dense housing without changing the current height profile. Once upon a time lofts were big cheap spaces with minimal plumbing and kitchen.

It is right next to a train station and the Kroc Center. It would be a great place for commuting to city or for families accessing services.

All of Dorchester is gentrifying. Even Dudley street.

They pay many shills to do PR for them. What is in it for you?

I have a bridge to sell and it sounds like you’re a buyer!