Alert
City of Boston Office to Residential Conversion Program Extension
August 15, 2024
Authors
David Linhart
Director, Boston
dlinhart@goulstonstorrs.com+1 617 574 4049
Matthew J. Kiefer
Of Counsel, Boston
mkiefer@goulstonstorrs.com+1 617 574 6597Related Expertise
In June, Mayor Wu announced the extension of the City of Boston's Office to Residential Conversion Program with $15 million in additional funding from the state. The program, which formally launched in October of 2023, aims to support owners and developers by incentivizing office-to-residential conversions and by expediting approvals and providing a property tax abatement of up to 75 percent for 29 years.
The $15 million in state money is available for larger-scale conversions of at least 70,000 square feet and is intended to subsidize the affordable units required by the program. Projects must be consistent with the City's new Inclusionary Development Policy that otherwise takes effect on October 1. The state will provide up to $215,000 per affordable unit with a cap of $4 million per project. In connection with this new state support, the City has extended the program's application deadline to December 31, 2025.
Key program considerations:
Location Flexibility: Projects within a delineated Demonstration Project Area are prioritized, but others in the City may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Regulatory Compliance: Projects must comply with the Stretch Energy Code, where applicable, and not conflict with other regulations.
- Project Scope: This program excludes complete demolition and new ground-up construction but allows up to 20% micro-units, excluding them from income-restricted units.
- Abatement Conditions: After the permit is issued, the City can cancel the tax abatement and claw back taxes if the developer does not pursue construction diligently.
- Transaction Charge: A 2% transaction charge on gross sale proceeds applies for five years after abatement starts, although this will be waived if the Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition passes.
- Eligibility Considerations: Projects not meeting requirements may still be considered for eligibility based on the City’s program goals.
- Additional information on the program, including full project eligibility requirements and application instructions, is available on the Planning Department's website (https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/office-to-residential-conversion-program.
To date, the Planning Department (formerly known as the Boston Planning and Development Agency) has received 11 applications to create a total of 523 residential units across Downtown Boston – two of which have been formally approved.
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