From office to home: How easy is it to convert offices into apartments?

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In times of housing shortages, they are a supposedly easy treasure to grab: vacant office space. But not every office building can be converted. Obstacles vary by property and location, and the road from office to home is long.

One thing is clear: In times of home office, the need for office space decreases. The takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS has also created an oversupply of office jobs in the financial centre. Additionally, before the turnaround in interest rates, there was a boom in office construction.

Conclusion: Owners of office and commercial properties lose large amounts of money if they cannot rent office space. Therefore, financial pressure is increasing to look for new sources of income, for example by converting offices into living space.

Not every office is suitable

According to “NZZ am Sonntag”, consultancy Wüest Partner estimates that the proportion of unused office space is 6.7 percent of the total. This creates an excess supply of approximately 4 million square meters. The milk booklet calculation can be done quickly: This area will correspond to approximately 45,000 new apartments.

But Robert Weinert (45), Head of Research at Wüest Partner, restrains: “There is potential, but there are many obstacles.” Additionally, the calculation is a bit too fast since many spaces in office buildings cannot simply be converted into living space. “Space is required for bathrooms, toilets and kitchens, access to apartments or often additional elevators,” says Weinert. In addition, more walls often need to be built for the living area; No one wants to live behind glass walls or other room dividers, as is common in open-plan offices. “Not every office building’s floor plan is suitable for conversion into living space,” Weinert is convinced.

In addition, renovation costs a lot of money, perhaps even more than a long-term vacancy. Additionally, long-term lease agreements are the rule for office spaces. If the tenant moves out, they may have to continue making payments for a long time.

Worth it in a central location

However: In places where the housing shortage is greatest, i.e. in and around cities such as Zurich, Basel or Geneva, conversion can certainly also be socially beneficial. “This is ridiculous,” says real estate expert Donato Scognamiglio (53). “There is a huge vacancy in many offices, and in some places there is a serious housing shortage.” Therefore, each owner must do the math themselves. “Conversion pays off in a central location,” Scognamiglio is convinced.

Perhaps in the CS Towers in Zurich-Oerlikon, where the bank has already decided to move. Or in Balsberg in Kloten ZH, close to the airport. About a third of the space in Swissair’s former headquarters, “Switzerland’s largest commercial building”, is vacant, as “NZZ am Sonntag” writes. In total, the complex covers an area of ​​approximately 80,000 square meters; This hosts almost 1,000 apartments. Scognamiglio: “By living with services, very attractive apartments can be created here for business people, singles or childless couples.” And so perhaps we can relieve some of the pressure on the tense Zurich housing market.

An important obstacle to change of use is building and zoning regulations. People are not allowed to live wherever there are office or commercial buildings. The housing shortage roundtable recognized this problem and launched a study on greater mixing of work and living spaces.

Source :Blick