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The borough of Manhattan, home to 1.7 million people, approved no new units of housing last month and just 10 buildings with 279 units in total were approved last month in the other four boroughs combined. City leaders are raising the alarm about the anemic pace of development. — Business Insider
The lack of new housing starts mirrors a nationwide dip that was recorded at 24% for the month of June, according to the latest Dodge Construction Network report. Manhattan has seen ruinous housing cost increases since the pandemic abated, irking those in power who feel the need to end a citywide... View full entry
New economic reporting compiled by Yardi Matrix suggests that apartment conversions will yield 122,000 or more new units in the United States in the coming years despite a recent turndown that’s been recorded in the market since January 1st. RentCafe has the latest data analysis to highlight a... View full entry
A bellwether overhaul of the aging Emery Roth & Sons-designed 55 Broad Street office tower in Lower Manhattan will be undertaken by CetraRuddy in what is billed as one of the New York market’s largest office-to-residential conversion projects in recent memory. The project for developers... View full entry
Progress on the 5 World Trade Center (5WTC) project by KPF moves forward after a press conference announcement on July 27 from New York Governor Kathy Hochul. In an effort to build more affordable housing in Lower Manhattan, the news reported by The Real Deal states that the... View full entry
Appearing to substantiate reports that UCSB’s controversial Munger Hall proposal has been scrapped, the university issued a formal “request for qualifications” this week for architectural firms to design a new student housing project at the same campus location previously reserved for Munger Hall. — Santa Barbara Independent
After Santa Barbara Independent Executive Editor Nick Welsh hinted at the end of the infamous "Dormzilla" student housing plan in a scathing editorial in mid-July, UC Santa Barbara's recently published RFQ for the "construction of the UCSB Student Housing Infill and Redevelopment Project" at the... View full entry
These conversions seem like a win-win: turning a plethora of barely used office space into desperately needed urban housing.
But converting offices into apartments is easier said than done. And while it's easy to imagine the process behind conversions, like adding in walls and plumbing, it gets complicated.
— NPR
Various cities across the United States have been turning to office-to-residential conversions as a way to address declining city cores that have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. As noted by NPR, San Francisco is making way for these conversions by adjusting current building codes and getting rid... View full entry
The first 3D printed model home concept Wolf Ranch development, built by Lennar and ICON and co-designed by BIG, has been completed in Georgetown, Texas. The initial of what will eventually turn into a 100-home development outside the rapidly-expanding state capital showcases one of eight... View full entry
“It’s less about e-commerce than it is about how people want to live and what they want to experience [...] People want to connect, they want to be social, so we’re trying to give them more reasons and more opportunities to do that.” — The Globe and Mail
The movement is not without its detractors, however, as planning experts like the University of British Columbia’s Dr. Penelope Gurstein balance the media’s mostly effusive coverage for such projects with criticism that they are marketed towards affluent retirees and wealthy overseas... View full entry
New York City’s Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz is set to leave her post in the Adams administration by early July, she told Gothamist, leaving open a critical role tasked with overseeing the city’s response to its growing housing and homelessness crises. — Gothamist
Katz told Gothamist the job was both “frustrating” and a “real sprint.” She is credited with overseeing the beginnings of New York Mayor Eric Adams’ first housing plan as well as streamlining several key projects involving supportive and transitional housing during her... View full entry
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the start of construction of a $416 million mixed-income, mixed-use residential development in the Inwood neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. It will include nearly 700 apartments, including 281 affordable units, and provide a range of... View full entry
A new report published by the Brookings Institution is offering potential solutions for developers, architects, and urban planners engaged in office-to-residential conversions in the hopes of remedying the spate of downtown declines that are beginning to plague cities across the country... View full entry
A proposed new high-rise development in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset district is standing out over its disputed manipulation of statewide density laws. The LA Times is reporting on CH Planning‘s unlikely new proposal, which could add a Solomon Cordwell Buenz-designed 50-story... View full entry
A $47.2 million apartment building with 100% affordable units will be built next to a Green Line stop in East Garfield Park, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday. Her administration selected the winner from three development proposals submitted for the site at 132 N. Kedzie Ave. The nearly half-acre property at the southwest corner of Kedzie and Lake street has been city-owned since the 1990s. — Chicago Sun-Times
The development, called Hub 32, will span 78,000 square feet, stand seven stories tall, and include 63 units. It will offer apartments with rents affordable to those earning up to 60% of the area’s median income. The winning proposal was designed by Brooks + Scarpa and Studio Dwell. The site... View full entry
3D printing construction technology startup Mighty Buildings has offered a first look inside their new factory in Monterrey, Mexico. As part of the company’s mission to develop and construct “climate-resilient, carbon-neutral homes near points of need,” the factory is reportedly capable of... View full entry
The fallout from the recent failure of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is having wide-reaching effects across the country. Take Boston, for example, where advocates for multiple in-progress affordable housing developments are concerned about their future following the bank's collapse. The... View full entry