DENVER — A study proposed in Denver's 2023 budget would examine certain downtown Denver office buildings and look at how feasible it would be to convert them to housing.
The plan is part of a larger adaptive reuse program the city's Community Planning and Development team is playing a big role in.
"Since the pandemic, the downtown has really suffered from vibrancy because a lot of people are now either working from home full time or they have a hybrid work environment," Adaptive Reuse Senior Project Development Administrator Jenny Buddenborg said.
She said if approved, the study would specifically look at the feasibility of reusing 10 to 15 high-rise office buildings downtown.
There would also be an investigation of underperforming office buildings to determine their potential for residential conversions.
"No doubt all of Denver needs more housing," Buddenborg said. "In downtown with this office to residential conversion allows us to hit that need and that initiative."
The decision of whether or not to convert a building will ultimately be up to the property owner.
Buddenborg said they're still working on the list of buildings they would examine. If the study were completed, it'll look at several factors, including the footprint of the building, the scale of the building itself and its proximity to transit, among other things.
"But the vast majority of them that we're looking at have less than 50% occupancy at this time, and some of them 0% occupancy," she said. "So we're talking a very high vacancy rate with these buildings."
Buddenborg said that if a building were converted, it would be subject to the Expanding Housing Affordability policy.
"But we are really focusing on the central business district core and creating a real vibrant 24/7 neighborhood where we have people living down there, we have people working down there, and we really do have a complete neighborhood," she said. "Housing is a really important piece of that."
She also believes this could help improve the level of sustainability with their development in Denver.
According to Buddenborg, about 66% of Denver's buildings are more than 50 years old. She said 76% are over 30 years old.
"So our building stock is older, it's more mature. And we can't build our way out of environmental goals. We have to work with what we have. And so adaptive reuse and this conversion of office to residential is really helping us meet our environmental goals as well," she said.
City council is expected to vote on the 2023 budget by November.
Downtown Denver Partnership recently received funding to fill 10 more vacant storefronts by providing free rent to businesses, among other incentives.
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