Such conversions will play a significant role in improving affordable housing supply, according to developers
The current regulatory environment is a major factor preventing efforts to convert unused Toronto office space into much-needed housing units, according to market players.
Jeff Hull, president of development firm Hullmark, said that conversions will play a significant – and more environmentally friendly – role in improving Toronto’s affordable housing supply.
“We’re very much interested in seeing how we can play a part in creating more housing supply through the conversion of office,” Hull told BNNBloomberg.ca. “The main challenge is changing the regulatory framework.”
Hull called for a more flexible and “permissive policy environment” that will help promote more office conversions, while “acknowledging the fact that these are going to be hard and cost a lot of money.”
As of the first quarter, more than 35 million square feet of office space remained unused in the GTA, Avison Young recently reported.
The region’s office space availability also went up by 130 basis points on a quarterly basis, reaching 17.8% in Q1 2023.
Taking these numbers into account, governments and regulators should seriously consider this approach as “a solution that contributes to placemaking and to the revitalization and vibrancy of neighbourhoods, particularly downtown cores,” Avison Young said.
“We must reimagine how we want to live, work and play,” said Sheila Botting, principal and president of professional services (Americas) at Avison Young. “Adaptive reuse is one of the key components of how we do that as a community.”
“People are rethinking how they use office buildings and how they view the entire downtown,” Botting added. “Whereas most downtowns have mainly office buildings, a mix of uses provides much needed energy and vibrancy – and that’s where adaptive reuse provides a tremendous opportunity to reimagine great spaces for people to connect.”
