Why empty offices aren’t becoming homes | Real Estate Newsletter
And Philly is kicking rentals off Airbnb.
To the average person, it may seem like we have a simple enough solution to the twin problems of not enough housing and underused office buildings: Turn offices into homes. There. Fixed ‘em.
After all, Philadelphia is a national leader when it comes to turning old factories and offices into apartments.
I’ve toured factories in the city that faced a bunch of barriers as they transformed into homes. You might think converting offices is easier.
But it’s not. We lay out some of the challenges of converting offices to homes.
Keep scrolling for that story, and read why Philly is kicking some properties off Airbnb, learn about the lawsuit filed by a woman who was shot in the head during an eviction, and peek into a lush property in Montgomery County.
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My colleague Jake Blumgart says we shouldn’t hold our breath waiting for Center City’s office district to become a residential neighborhood.
There, most of the office buildings easiest to convert have already been converted.
Some of the barriers that make turning offices into homes difficult:
Building layout (You like having windows in your home, right?)
Long office leases
Overall cost
“I have a lot of nightmare stories,” said Jim Pearlstein, president of Pearl Properties.
Then there are problems that have popped up in the last year or two:
Higher construction costs and interest rates
Competition with new apartment buildings
But Philly does have offices that could be candidates for conversions, and it has advantages over other cities. Read more about those as well as the challenges when it comes to conversions.
During the pandemic, more neighbors complained about short-term rentals in their communities turning into nuisance “party houses.”
So back in 2021, City Council passed a law that requires people who operate short-term rentals either to get a “limited lodging operator” license or, if they don’t live in the property they’re renting out, to make sure they have a hotel license. The law took effect in January.
Now Philly is cracking down.
The city has told online platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo to delist properties in Philly that don’t have the required licenses. Thousands of properties could be taken off the websites, which means potential renters won’t be able to find them.
The city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections said customers with reservations should check in with their platform to find out what to do if a property suddenly disappears.
Read more about why short-term rental hosts say they haven’t gotten their licenses yet.
The latest news to pay attention to
A Philly woman who was shot in the head during an eviction filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that challenges the city’s unusual for-profit eviction system.
After three shootings during evictions in four months, Philly has temporarily stopped lockouts by the landlord-tenant officer.
Twelve Philly judges whose courts uphold city rental regulations didn’t follow the law on their own investment properties.
Pieces of famed Philly artist Isaiah Zagar’s endangered Painted Bride mosaic could be incorporated into a plan for short-term rentals in Old City.
Federal officials are accusing a childhood friend of City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson of defrauding taxpayers by buying and reselling city-owned land in gentrifying Point Breeze instead of building affordable housing.
Land that used to be part of the Franklin Mills mall complex could be used to build a new hotel.
House of the week: For $759,900 in Fishtown, a four-bedroom brownstone.
Luxe listing: For $3.2 million, a Bucks County estate with a kitchen designed by Julia Child.
Suzanne Smith-Oscilowski has a limited lawn.
The acre of ground around her two-story brick Lower Gwynedd home is full of densely planted flowers, trees, and shrubs. The mostly native plants represent more than 300 varieties.
The yard is a certified habitat for birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife. Frogs croak in the lily pond. Smith-Oscilowski and her husband, Alex, have two beehives.
Smith-Oscilowski said she “got hooked on gardening” after the couple bought their first home in Texas. They bought their current home in 1999, and Smith-Oscilowski turned the yard into a beautiful, natural, and low-maintenance garden that includes rain barrels.
Peek into the couple’s lush property and learn how Smith-Oscilowski keeps beetles and deer away.
🧠 Trivia time 🧠
Construction on the $70 million new museum dedicated to one of Philly’s most famous artists began in earnest last month. Calder Gardens, named for Alexander Calder, is scheduled to open on the Ben Franklin Parkway in late 2024 or early 2025.
Question: The idea of a Calder museum has had support and financial backing since when?
A) 2020
B) the 2000s
C) the 1990s
D) the 1980s
This story has the answer.
📷 Photo quiz 📷
Do you know the location this photo shows?
📮 If you think you do, email me back. You and your memories of visiting this spot might be featured in the newsletter.
Shoutout to Elizabeth B., who knew that Philly’s newest public restroom, the Philly Phlush, is at 15th and Arch outside of the Municipal Services Building.
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In last week’s newsletter, I mentioned how hard it is to be a home buyer right now.
Folks are trying to make their home ownership dreams happen any way they can. According to a new LendingTree survey, 29% of Americans say they’d consider co-buying a home with someone other than a romantic partner — namely friends or family.
That’s what my best friend and her sister did in 2020. And that’s going well for them. That same friend wants a group of us to buy a big house or a compound together for our later years.
Another best friend and I have been dreaming since high school of co-owning one of those HGTV “dream homes” from the sweepstakes.
And it would be fun to go in on a vacation property with the cousins I grew up with. But considering that the group of us has never successfully organized a vacation together or even agreed on a location, I know that’s not gonna happen. And then there’s the cost. But I can dream.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
P.S. We started this newsletter journey together six months ago. Thanks for welcoming me into your inbox every week.