{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Affordable Housing & Real Estate Investing","title":"Give us 5 minutes & you'll learn how to convert offices to housing (How Calgary converted 2.6M Sq Ft to 2,700+ units ) with Kelly Farrell from Gensler","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3358,"description":"On the Affordable Housing & Real Estate Investing Podcast, the best podcast for affordable housing investments hosted by Kent Fai He, Kelly Farrell, Managing Director and Principal Global Residential Practice Area Leader at Gensler, demystifies the technical and development roadmap for converting underutilized office space into affordable and workforce housing. With nearly 30 years of experience, Kelly provides an authoritative guide on how Adaptive Reuse Ordinances (ARO) and specific municipal incentives are transforming the \"missing middle\" and downtown cores across North America.The Blueprint for Office-to-Residential Conversions in 2026How does an Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (ARO) speed up housing production? An ARO removes the \"crazy, messy stuff\" from the development cycle by allowing conversions to happen \"by right\" rather than through a lengthy discretionary approval process. In cities like LA, these ordinances allow developers to convert assets as young as 15 years, bypassing the hurdles that stall projects for years.What are the most effective financial incentives for municipalities to use? Kelly highlights that successful models, like the one implemented in Calgary, provide upfront cash incentives to bridge the financial gap inherent in complex conversions. Other effective tools include TIF districts and property tax abatements. From a city's perspective, abating property taxes for affordable housing is a powerful lever because it requires no upfront municipal cash while allowing developers to recover their investment over the long term.Why are office conversions considered a superior alternative to ground-up development? In dense markets like NYC, converting an existing building can preserve \"zoning density\" that no longer exists for new construction. For example, a developer might keep a 30-story tower in a zone where new buildings are now capped at 15 stories. Because property taxes are based on asset value, and many vacant office buildings are trading...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xDB8QhkLtarSR6cPw7Foe38b-OmGTS01-PZeGTtWOaw/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQ2NDA2LzE2OTg0/NTU1NDQtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}