As Marni Lefkowitz Ahram, a principal at the law firm of Shapiro, Lifschitz & Schram reported recently in , 鈥淪mall and mid-sized urban and near-in suburban markets have experienced residential conversion trends a few times over the past 40-plus years, for instance, by repurposing empty waterfront or agricultural warehouses into loft-style living and entertainment districts, and by leveraging incentives for maintaining historically significant structures that are otherwise outmoded office buildings.鈥澛�
乐竞体育赛事直播庐 President-elect Renee Savage, CPM庐, CCIM, agrees. Even in her home base of San Diego, she says, office-to-multifamily conversions have been making local news for more than a decade, with a prime focus on class B and C office assets.
But note, she said 鈥渓ocal news.鈥� If COVID-19 didn鈥檛 launch the trend, it certainly brought it into the national consciousness. 鈥淲ith the pandemic, there was so much discussion about what would happen to office assets,鈥� says the president of SavageCRE. 鈥淐ertainly, the news media picked up on it, although they were never interested in it in the past.鈥� Names such as Silverstein Properties and Cooper Carry brought the trend to national prominence.
Indeed, conversions are picking up, with CNBC stating that conversions are 鈥渟oaring.鈥� The news outlet says that, of 32,000 apartment conversions in the past two years,
The economic benefits of turning a lackluster building into a moneymaker are clear, especially given the ongoing shortage of housing, says Savage. But there are other benefits as well. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good for sustainability,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not tearing something down and rebuilding. Also, considering that there鈥檚 not a lot of available land on which to build, this is a great solution for increasing our housing stock.鈥澛�
How long-lasting the conversion trend might be is a matter of conjecture. But as long as the option seems viable, conversions of all sorts will continue.
Savage cites the conversion of a small office building in San Diego that鈥檚 currently being transformed into 27 micro units. But it should be noted that the real news here might be what鈥檚 happening across the street, at the seven-acre Horton Plaza Mall, a local outdoor shopping venue that totally fits the lackluster description. Ironically, rather than an office-to-residential switch, it鈥檒l be converted to The Campus at Horton, an 鈥渋nnovation hub," focusing on technology and biotech companies.聽
No matter the plan, the conversion trend fits comfortably into 乐竞体育赛事直播鈥檚 wheelhouse and the support it can extend to members dealing with the movement. On one hand, as Savage points out, 鈥淢any property managers are well-versed in only one product type. So, they鈥檒l need to enhance their education in whichever piece they don鈥檛 know, whether it鈥檚 retail, office or multifamily.鈥�
Ongoing education is becoming ever more critical, she adds, as an increasing number of property management companies and service providers expand their management offerings for greater diversification. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l have to build teams that can speak to more than one area of expertise,鈥� she says.
Whatever the driver, 乐竞体育赛事直播 is on hand to support that continuing education initiative. As Savage explains, it begins with the firm foundation of CPM庐 certification. 鈥淔rom there, you can pick what direction you want to go. We also offer one-off skill badges to round out professional training.鈥�
But another essential service the Institute offers is 鈥渢he ability to customize training programs,鈥� specifically for the needs of the member organization looking to expand.聽This is another trend we鈥檙e seeing in real estate management, and 乐竞体育赛事直播 has the talent and expertise to fulfill that demand.