Mayor Wu Announces Residential Conversion Program for Downtown Boston Offices

Boston – Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced the city will launch a new “Downtown Office to Residential Conversion Pilot Program,” a publicprivate partnership program to incentivize the conversion of underutilized office buildings to residential use in downtown this fall.

The program, which is anticipated to begin accepting applications this fall, will be administered jointly by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH), and the City of Boston Finance Cabinet to help meet city goals of creating housing units downtown and having more consistent foot traffic throughout the week to support downtown businesses. This program may be modified to acknowledge and respond to changing market conditions.

“We must take every possible action to create more housing and more affordability so that Boston’s growth meets the needs of current and future residents,” said Wu. “This program will help us take advantage of the opportunity we have to rethink downtown as a space where people from all over come together to collaborate, create, live, and play.”

The program would offer owners of commercial office buildings downtown reduced property tax rates in return for immediately converting their buildings to residential uses. Based on studies prepared for the city as part of PLAN: Downtown, a rate reduction by up to 75% of the standard tax rate for residential for up to 29 years could provide a strong incentive to encourage conversion. This would be implemented through a public-private partnership that will enable the BPDA, the City, and the proponent to enter into a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement. These terms were developed with the assistance of outside experts in order to make residential construction economically possible in the short term given the high cost of such conversions. These projects will also receive the support of the new ombudsperson’s office at the BPDA to help with streamlining the approvals process from other city departments following BPDA board approval. Final program parameters will be defined when applications are made available this fall.

The program is planned to be timelimited and will only accept applications through June of 2024. To be eligible, projects must comply with the proposed Inclusionary Zoning standards when approved; and the new Stretch Code’s energy efficiency standards. Applicants will be encouraged to maintain ground floor retail or other public uses. Projects will be required to start construction by October 2025, and will be subject to paying any forgone taxes if these commitments are not met. In order to recoup the forgone tax revenue over time, the City will also require a 2% payment on future sales of the property.

“Through this conversion program, we seek to incentivize lenders, property owners, downtown stakeholders, and the state to partner with the city to increase the production of much needed housing in our downtown core,” said Chief of Planning Arthur Jemison. “This public private partnership opportunity is the right tool to unlock new housing and shape a new, mixed-use neighborhood downtown.”

AIA CT to Host Hip Hop Architecture Camp

Hartford, CT – The Connecticut Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Connecticut) announced it will host The Hip Hop Architecture Camp from Aug. 21- 25 in Hartford, in partnership with the University of Hartford’s Department of Architecture.

The Hip Hop Architecture Camp was founded in 2016 by Michael Ford, an architect born and raised in the city of Detroit. Ford received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM), where he completed his graduate thesis titled “Hip Hop Inspired Architecture and Design.” He is a co-founder of The Urban Arts Collective, where he created and conducts The Hip Hop Architecture Camp with the mission to increase the number of minorities in architecture and urban planning.

Designed to inspire and encourage underrepresented youth, the week-long camp explores concepts of architecture and urban planning by way of hip hop

PLAN: Downtown Study Area Boundary

culture. Students will try their hand at 3D modeling, design, lighting, materials, and textures, all culminating in a music video at the end of the week.

“Through Hip Hop Architecture Camp, our goal is to bridge the gap between underrepresented youth and the architectural profession. By fostering a welcoming and inclusive space, we empower teens to explore their passion for design, unlocking their potential to become the architects, urban planners, and designers of tomorrow,” said Gina Calabro, executive director/CEO of AIA Connecticut.

Hartford is one of only four cities where Hip Hop Architecture Camp will travel to this summer; students in Atlanta, Memphis, and Dallas are partaking in the camp throughout July.

“We invite educators, parents, community leaders, and all advocates of youth empowerment to support and engage with this initiative,” said Calabro.