Office to residential conversion programs: US registry of incentives, by-right laws and federal guidance (2026)

Office to residential conversion programs registry: cities, states and federal guidance

Checked quarterly. Last checked 2026-10-18. Entries are neutral records of public data; each links to its source record.

Office to residential conversion programs in 2026: what the registry shows

Cities and states mostly use rules, not money: 10 of 24 state and local entries change approvals or zoning, while 6 provide direct financing and 4 cut property taxes.

This registry lists office to residential conversion programs, laws and zoning changes that CB&C could confirm on an official page or statute as of 2026-10-18. It holds 24 state and local entries in force or launched across 11 states and Washington, DC, 3 federal guidance items, and 1 failed state bill kept for the record. The full list sits in the registry table on this page and in the downloadable CSV.

By-right approval or a zoning change appears in 10 entries, from California's AB 2011 to Texas SB 840 and the Los Angeles Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance. Direct financing appears in 6 entries, property tax abatements in 4, code flexibility in 4, fee or transfer tax waivers in 4, and process support in 3. Several programs combine tools: Boston pairs a tax abatement with as-of-right zoning and fast-track permitting.

Tax abatements and exemptions: New York, Washington DC, Boston and Montgomery County

Four jurisdictions cut property taxes for decades in exchange for affordable units; New York's 467-m runs longest, at up to 90% for 30 full-benefit years plus a phase-out.

New York's 467-m program, enacted in May 2024, exempts converted rental buildings from 90% of property tax in Manhattan south of 96th Street and 65% elsewhere, according to the NYC Comptroller. Projects starting by June 2026 get 30 full-benefit years; projects starting from July 2028 get 20, each followed by a 5-year phase-out. HPD requires that 25% of units be affordable at a weighted average of 80% of area median income, and conversions must be completed by 2039-12-31 (HPD).

Washington, DC offers a 20-year abatement through Housing in Downtown. The program caps total abatements at $2.5 million for FY2024 to FY2026, $5 million in FY2027 and $41 million in FY2028, then grows 4% a year. The FY2028 cap is 16.4 times the opening cap. Projects need at least 10 units and must set aside 10% of units at 60% of median family income or 18% at 80% for 20 years (DMPED RFA). The current page shows $5 million for FY2027, lower than the $6.8 million in the 2024 RFA.

Boston's program offers an average abatement of up to 75% of assessed residential value for up to 29 years through a 121B PILOT, with 17% of units affordable at 60% of AMI and applications due by December 2026 (Boston Planning Department). Montgomery County, Maryland enacted a 20-year PILOT for converting office buildings at least 50% vacant, with 17.5% of units as moderately priced dwelling units, over the County Executive's veto on 2025-04-29 (Ballard Spahr; County Executive letter).

Direct financing: TIF, tax credits, grants and loans

Chicago's LaSalle Street program has more than $315 million of TIF approved, or at least $178,470 per unit; states add credits, grants and loans.

Chicago's LaSalle Street Reimagined reports 6 office-to-residential projects with City assistance as of January 2026: more than $900 million of investment, 1,765 units and 2 million square feet. City Council has approved more than $315 million in tax increment financing, and 30% of units must be affordable at an average 60% of AMI. Another 14 conversions in the area are advancing without City money. CB&C divides the TIF by units to get at least $178,470 of TIF per unit.

Massachusetts runs two state tools. The Commercial Conversion Program awarded $7.4 million in June 2025 to two Boston projects, 31 Milk Street (110 units, $4 million) and 15 Court Square (80 units, $3.4 million), or $36,364 and $42,500 per unit. The Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative had $10 million of credit authority in 2025, with typical awards of $2.5 million to $3 million and a cap of 10% of eligible costs.

San Francisco's Downtown Revitalization Financing District, established 2026-02-12, returns a share of the property tax increment a conversion generates for 30 years. Pittsburgh's Downtown Conversion Program lends to projects that rent at least 20% of units at 80% of AMI for 40 years, but is not accepting applications. Wisconsin's Vacancy-to-Vitality program offers 0% loans of up to 33% of project cost for commercial buildings in general, from a $100 million allocation (Governor's office).

By-right approvals and zoning changes: California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, New York City and Los Angeles

Six state laws and three city rules let conversions skip rezoning or discretionary review; the newest, California AB 507, took effect on 2026-07-01.

California approved AB 2011 and SB 6 on 2022-09-28, allowing housing on office and retail sites through ministerial review. AB 507, the Office to Housing Conversion Act, makes adaptive reuse a use by right where no local ordinance applies; it was approved 2025-10-10 and became operative 2026-07-01 (bill status).

Texas SB 840, effective 2025-09-01, applies in cities above 150,000 people in counties above 300,000. For buildings at least 5 years old with at least 65% of floor area converted, cities may not require traffic studies, extra parking or new impact fees, or design rules stricter than the International Building Code. Arizona's HB 2297 required cities of 150,000 or more to allow by-right conversion on up to 10% of commercial, office or mixed-use buildings. Florida's Live Local Act allows residential use in commercial zones if 40% of units stay affordable for 30 years.

At city level, New York's City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, adopted 2024-12-05, extends conversion rules citywide to buildings built before 1991, up from December 1961 in most areas and January 1977 in the Financial District (Comptroller). Los Angeles lets buildings at least 15 years old convert by right through the building department from 2026-02-01 and dropped minimum unit sizes (LA City Planning). Seattle's Ordinance 127054 exempts conversions from most development standards and design review.

How many homes office conversion programs report

Only three city programs publish running unit totals; together they report 4,939 units, and most are not yet built.

Boston reports 28 applications covering 35 buildings, 2.1 million square feet and 2,420 units, including 463 affordable units, as of September 2026 (Boston Planning Department). One project is complete, 7 are under construction and 14 abatement agreements are signed; the city expects 321 units delivered by the end of 2026. Chicago reports 1,765 units in its 6 assisted LaSalle projects, and DC's three conditional awards in September 2024 total 754 units with at least 92 affordable (DC Mayor's Office).

The 4,939-unit sum mixes stages: Boston counts applications, Chicago counts approved or advancing projects, and DC counts conditional awards. It is not a count of completed homes. New York City does not publish a program total; the Comptroller estimated a pipeline of 17,432 units in 44 buildings through March 2025, with 15,414 units potentially eligible for 467-m (NYC Comptroller). The 5 Times Square conversion alone plans up to 1,250 rental units, about 313 permanently affordable (Mayor's Office).

What federal guidance provides for office conversions

CB&C found no dedicated federal conversion grant; the October 2023 guidebook listed 21 existing programs, mostly loans, and the DOT loan guidance is still online.

The White House released a Commercial to Residential Conversions guidebook on 2023-10-27 listing 21 federal programs: 7 loan or guarantee programs, 5 grant programs, 4 tax credits or deductions, 3 EPA programs that pass grants and loans through third parties, and 2 technical assistance programs. The fact sheet cited over $35 billion of TIFIA and RRIF lending capacity for transit-oriented development. Both pages now sit on an archived site labelled historical material.

Two pieces remain in force as published. The DOT Build America Bureau's TOD FAQ, live as of 2026-10-17, says office-to-residential conversion can qualify; TIFIA can cover up to 49% of eligible costs for projects of at least $10 million and RRIF up to 75%. HUD Notice CPD-2023-10 confirms CDBG can fund conversion of existing structures to rental housing, and Section 108 guarantees reach up to 5 times a grantee's annual CDBG allocation. Boston's September 2026 program deck still lists TIFIA, RRIF and HUD 221(d)(4) loans among outside resources (Boston Planning Department).

Why office conversions are hard: floor plates, windows, plumbing and cost

Official studies point to deep floor plates, sealed glass facades and all-new building systems, which is why programs add subsidy or waive rules.

New York's Office Adaptive Reuse Study (January 2023) found that early twentieth-century offices with shallow floor plates and operable windows convert most easily, while post-1960s towers with deep floor plates and glass curtain walls cost more because homes need operable windows and deep floors produce awkward layouts. The federal guidebook notes that converted offices often need all-new plumbing, heating and cooling, windows, doors and walls.

Codes add a second layer. Texas SB 840 bars cities from imposing window, interior or apartment-size design rules stricter than the International Building Code on conversions, and Los Angeles removed minimum unit sizes for conversions (SB 840; LA City Planning). Contractors weighing this work can compare scopes with commercial renovation contractors and local commercial building permits rules.

Adaptive reuse: Arizona law defines adaptive reuse as converting an existing building from the use for which it was built to a new use while keeping some or all of its elements (Laws 2024, Chapter 141). California's AB 507 covers retrofitting existing buildings for residential or mixed use, including office conversion projects.

The office stock these programs target

62.4% of US office floorspace predates 1990, the vintage that New York's new cutoff and Los Angeles's 15-year rule now open to conversion.

The 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey, still the latest full release, counts 970 thousand US office buildings with 16,662 million square feet and a median age of 38 years (EIA CBECS Table B2). Of that floorspace, 10,399 million square feet, or 62.4%, was built before 1990, and 2,826 million square feet, or 17.0%, before 1946 (EIA CBECS Table B9). The 1980s is the largest single decade at 3,441 million square feet.

CBECS age bins do not match city cutoffs exactly, and the survey does not measure floor plate depth, so these figures show the size of the older pool, not how much of it can convert. CB&C's commercial building stock age report covers all building types, and the sibling building performance standards report tracks energy rules that also apply to converted buildings.

Timeline: office conversion policy from 2022 to 2026

State and local actions held at 6 to 7 a year from 2023 to 2025; federal activity was a single burst in October 2023.

• 2022-09-28: California approves AB 2011 and SB 6.
• 2023-03-28: Chicago selects the first LaSalle Street conversions; 2023-03-29: Florida approves the Live Local Act.
• 2023-07: San Francisco adopts Ordinance 159-23; 2023-08-17: New York City launches the Office Conversion Accelerator; 2023-10: Boston launches its program.
• 2023-10-26 and 2023-10-27: HUD notice and White House guidebook released.
• 2024-03-22: DC opens Housing in Downtown applications; 2024-04-10: Arizona HB 2297 approved; 2024-04-12: San Francisco Proposition C takes effect.
• 2024-05: New York enacts 467-m; 2024-07-11: Seattle Ordinance 127054; 2024-12-05: City of Yes adopted.
• 2025-04-29: Montgomery County Bill 2-25 enacted; 2025-08-20: Massachusetts launches CCTCI; 2025-09-01: Texas SB 840 effective; 2025-10-10: California AB 507 approved.
• 2026-02-01: Los Angeles Citywide ARO effective; 2026-02-12: San Francisco financing district established; 2026-07-01: AB 507 operative.

Counts and distributions

Download the calculations (CSV)

Key findings

1. CB&C verified 24 state and local office conversion programs, laws and zoning changes in force or launched across 11 states and Washington, DC, as of 2026-10-18.^{[1][9][11][15][21][22][30]}
2. By-right approval or zoning change is the most common tool, appearing in 10 of 24 entries; direct financing appears in 6 and property tax abatements in 4.^{[24][27][30][34][36][6][22]}
3. New York's 467-m exempts 90% of property tax in Manhattan south of 96th Street and 65% elsewhere, with 30 full-benefit years for projects starting by June 2026 (enacted May 2024).^[5][3]
4. Boston's program reported 28 applications, 2,420 units and 463 affordable units in September 2026, with 1 project completed and 7 under construction.^[16]
5. Chicago's LaSalle Street Reimagined had more than $315 million in TIF approved for 6 projects with 1,765 units as of January 2026, at least $178,470 per unit.^[9]
6. DC's Housing in Downtown abatement caps total spending at $2.5 million for FY2024 to FY2026, rising to $41 million in FY2028, 16.4 times the opening cap.^[11]
7. Boston, Chicago and DC together report 4,939 units in their programs, mostly not yet built.^[16][9][14]
8. The NYC Comptroller estimated a 17,432-unit office conversion pipeline in 44 buildings through March 2025, with 15,414 units potentially eligible for 467-m.^[5]
9. California's AB 507, approved 2025-10-10, made adaptive reuse a use by right from 2026-07-01.^[27][28]
10. Texas SB 840, effective 2025-09-01, bars new impact fees, extra parking and traffic studies for qualifying conversions in cities above 150,000 people.^[29][30]
11. Los Angeles's Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, effective 2026-02-01, lets buildings at least 15 years old convert by right.^[22][23]
12. The October 2023 federal guidebook listed 21 existing programs and created no dedicated conversion grant; it is now on an archived site.^[42][41]
13. Colorado's proposed conversion tax credit, HB24-1125, did not pass: the legislature records it as Lost.^[31]
14. 62.4% of US office floorspace, 10,399 million square feet, was built before 1990 (EIA 2018 CBECS).^[46]

Executive summary

• CB&C verified 24 state and local office conversion entries in 11 states and DC, plus 3 federal guidance items, checked 2026-10-18.
• By-right approval or zoning change is the most common tool (10 entries); direct financing (6) and tax abatements (4) follow.
• The longest-running tax break is New York's 467-m: 90% off property tax in Manhattan south of 96th Street for 30 full-benefit years for early starters.
• Program-reported units total 4,939 across Boston (2,420), Chicago (1,765) and DC (754); most are applications or awards, not finished homes.
• New laws in Texas (SB 840, 2025) and California (AB 507, operative 2026-07-01) remove rezoning and some fees for conversions.
• Federal support is guidance on 21 existing programs from October 2023; DOT loan guidance and HUD's CDBG notice remain online.
• 62.4% of US office floorspace predates 1990, the pool most new rules target.

Frequently asked questions

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Methodology

Selection: CB&C searched for office or commercial-to-residential conversion incentives, zoning changes and laws named in the brief and in reporting, then kept only entries confirmed on an official government page, statute, ordinance or program document opened on 2026-10-18. Each registry entry records the incentive type, key terms, the date of adoption, launch or effect, an evidence label (law/ordinance, program page or both) and the source URL.

Inclusion and exclusion: Entries must be in force or launched. Colorado HB24-1125 appears in the registry as not enacted for accuracy but is excluded from counts. Denver's adaptive reuse pilot is excluded because its official documents returned server errors on 2026-10-18; Calgary is outside the US scope. Statewide by-right laws for commercial zones (California AB 2011 and SB 6, Florida, Texas, Arizona) are included because they cover office sites, although they also cover new construction.

Conflicting numbers: Where an agency page and an older document differ, the current page is used and the difference noted (DC's FY2027 cap shows $5 million on the program page against $6.8 million in the 2024 RFA). The Comptroller's NYC pipeline appears as 15.2 million gross square feet in its table and 15.3 million in its text; the table value is used. The federal fact sheet says six agencies while the guidebook list says seven; both are reported.

Derived metrics: incentive type counts, yearly action counts, unit sums, per-unit subsidy and CBECS age shares are computed in scripts/build_data.py from the fact sheet and registry, with formulas and input rows in derived_metrics.csv. Unit sums add only published figures and label the stage of each.

Limitations: The registry is not a census of every US jurisdiction. Program unit counts are self-reported and mix stages. Montgomery County's enactment date comes from a law firm alert (Tier 3) because the county bill page was unavailable. Federal program availability was not re-verified program by program. CBECS 2018 is the latest release; a newer survey cycle had not published as of the check date.

Last updated 2026-10-18. The registry is checked quarterly. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice.

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.

Sources, ranked by quality

Tier 1: primary and official sources (48)

• [1] City of New York. Office Conversion Accelerator. Program page, checked 2026-10-18. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [2] New York City Office of the Mayor. Mayor Adams, DCP Director Garodnick unveil proposal to convert vacant offices to housing (release 602-23). Release dated 2023-08-17. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [3] NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. 467-m: Affordable Housing from Commercial Conversions. Program page, 2026 workbook updated 2026-05-17. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [4] NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. HPD Launches Comprehensive Tool for 467-m Initiative. Release dated 2024-08-06. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [5] Office of the New York City Comptroller. Office to Residential Conversions (fiscal note). Published 2025-07-17; pipeline data through 2025 Q1. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [6] NYC Department of City Planning. City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. Adopted 2024-12-05. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [7] New York City Office of the Mayor. Mayor Adams, Governor Hochul announce office-to-housing transformation at 5 Times Square. Release dated May 2025. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [8] NYC Department of City Planning (Office Adaptive Reuse Task Force). Office Adaptive Reuse Study. January 2023. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [9] City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development. LaSalle Street Reimagined. Status as of January 2026. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [10] City of Chicago Office of the Mayor. City of Chicago announces two additional office-to-residential conversion projects along LaSalle Street corridor. Release dated 2023-05-05. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [11] DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. Housing in Downtown (HID) Program. Program page, FY2026 caps. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [12] DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. Housing in Downtown Request for Applications. RFA dated 2024-03-22. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [13] Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia. Mayor Bowser launches Housing in Downtown program. Release dated 2024-03-11. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [14] Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia. Mayor Bowser announces first projects to receive Housing in Downtown support. Release dated 2024-09-05. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [15] City of Boston Planning Department (BPDA). Office to Residential Conversion Program. Program page, checked 2026-10-18. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [16] City of Boston Planning Department (BPDA). Office-to-Residential Conversion Program presentation, September 2026. Presentation dated September 2026 (file published 2026-09-10). Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [17] City of Boston Planning Department (BPDA). Planning Department advances largest downtown office-to-residential conversion. News item dated 2026-03-19. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [18] Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative. Program page, CY2025 round. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [19] Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Healey-Driscoll Administration launches $10 million initiative to transform commercial spaces into homes. Release dated 2025-08-20. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [20] Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Healey-Driscoll Administration awards $7.4 million to convert downtown Boston offices into new housing. Release dated 2025-06-04. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [21] San Francisco Planning Department. Planning Director Bulletin No. 12: Downtown Commercial to Residential. First issued February 2026. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [22] Los Angeles City Planning. Adaptive Reuse (Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance No. 188,793). Ordinance effective 2026-02-01. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [23] Los Angeles City Planning. Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance press release (Old Building, New Life). Release dated 2026-02-09. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [24] California Legislative Information. AB 2011 Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022. Approved by Governor 2022-09-28. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [25] California Legislative Information. SB 6 Local planning: housing: commercial zones (bill status). Chapter 659, Statutes of 2022. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [26] California Legislative Information. AB 529 Adaptive reuse projects. Approved by Governor 2023-10-11. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [27] California Legislative Information. AB 507 Office to Housing Conversion Act (chaptered text). Chaptered 2025; operative 2026-07-01. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [28] California Legislative Information. AB 507 bill status. Chapter 493, Statutes of 2025. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [29] Texas Legislature Online. SB 840 bill history (89th Legislature, Regular Session). Effective 2025-09-01. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [30] Texas Legislature Online. SB 840 enrolled text. Enrolled version, 2025. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [31] Colorado General Assembly. HB24-1125 Tax Credit Commercial Building Conversion. 2024 Regular Session; status Lost. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [32] Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Downtown Conversion Program. Program page, checked 2026-10-18. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [33] City of Seattle Office of the City Clerk. Ordinance 127054 (conversions of existing nonresidential structures to residential use). Passed 2024-07-09; approved 2024-07-11. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [34] Arizona State Legislature. Laws 2024, Chapter 141 (HB 2297 adaptive reuse; commercial buildings; zoning). Approved by Governor 2024-04-10. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [35] The Florida Senate. CS/CS/SB 102 (2023) Housing (Live Local Act): bill history. Chapter 2023-17; effective 2023-07-01. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [36] The Florida Senate. CS/CS/SB 102 (2023) enrolled text. Enrolled version, 2023. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [37] Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. Vacancy to Vitality Term Sheet for Multifamily Rental Housing (Spring 2026 cycle). Spring 2026 cycle. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [38] Office of the Governor of Wisconsin. Gov. Evers, WHEDA announce Vacancy-to-Vitality first round recipients for affordable housing. Release dated 2024-01-31. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [39] Montgomery County (MD) Office of the County Executive. County Executive letter urging no final vote on Expedited Bill 2-25. Letter dated 2025-04-03. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [41] The White House (archived site). Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration takes action to create more affordable housing by converting commercial properties to residential use. 2023-10-27; archived page marked historical. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [42] The White House (archived site). Commercial to Residential Conversions: A Guidebook to Available Federal Resources (Version 1). October 2023, Version 1. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [43] U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Notice CPD-2023-10: Use of CDBG funds in support of housing. Issued 2023-10-26; in effect until amended, superseded or rescinded. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [44] U.S. Department of Transportation, Build America Bureau. Transit-Oriented Development FAQs (TIFIA and RRIF). Page live as of 2026-10-17. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [45] U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2018 CBECS Table B2: Summary table, totals and medians. 2018 reference year; released September 2021, revised December 2022. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [46] U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2018 CBECS Table B9: Year constructed, floorspace. 2018 reference year; released September 2021, revised December 2022. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [47] U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2018 CBECS Table B8: Year constructed, number of buildings. 2018 reference year; released September 2021, revised December 2022. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [48] U.S. Energy Information Administration. Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) home page. Checked 2026-10-18: 2018 CBECS is the latest full release. Accessed 2026-10-18.
• [49] Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia. Mayor Bowser celebrates future of housing downtown DC. Release dated 2022-12-15. Accessed 2026-10-18.

Tier 3: journalism and expert commentary (1)

• [40] Ballard Spahr LLP. Multifamily June 2025 Alert. June 2025. Accessed 2026-10-18.