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Officials Celebrate First 100+ Units Converted From Offices Now Under Construction in Boston

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Mayor Wu, along with City and State officials, today celebrated the first 141 homes that are currently under construction and being converted from former vacant office buildings, as part of the City of Boston's Office to Residential Conversion Program, 26 of which will be income-restricted. These buildings include 263 Summer Street, 129 Portland Street, 615 Albany Street, and 281 Franklin Street. The building at 281 Franklin Street, which will create 15 homes, will have tenants move in at the end of the summer.

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"Boston is building the foundation for a stronger, more vibrant downtown through our dedication to housing, public safety, and economic growth. As cities across the country look to revitalize and reenergize their downtown neighborhoods, in Boston downtown foot traffic is up and commercial vacancies have been nearly cut in half with a focus on safety, business recruitment, and activation," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "The Office to Residential Conversion program is critical to this momentum. Today marks a major milestone for housing creation, with 780 units in the pipeline for the Office to Residential Conversion program and a groundbreaking for 141 of those new homes. Working with the state, the business community, and neighborhood partners, we're bucking national and local trends and transforming underutilized office space into homes for over a thousand new residents."

"Acknowledging the challenges in the construction industry today, it is extremely exciting that we can celebrate the conversion of multiple office buildings into new homes in our Downtown," said Chief of Planning Kairos Shen. "This program is one part of our multi-pronged approach to expand housing options Downtown to respond to post-pandemic economic shifts and create a vibrant, 18-hour, mixed-use neighborhood."

The building at 263 Summer Street will create 77 homes in the historic district of Fort Point. As part of the conversion, the building will preserve the historic Boston Wharf Co. sign. At 60,000 SF, this is the first Article 80 Large Project to go through the Office-to-Residential Conversion Program and is located in close proximity to South Station, easily connecting it to the rest of the region.

"I want to thank Mayor Michelle Wu for her unwavering commitment to addressing Boston's office vacancy and housing shortages — not as separate problems, but as one extraordinary opportunity," said Owner of Burns Realty & Investments, Adam Burns. "Your leadership has turned what could have been a crisis into a catalyst for reinvention, and we are proud to stand with you in that effort with this project at 263 Summer Street to redevelop this historic office building into 77 new homes."

The project at 129 Portland Street in the Bulfinch Triangle will create 25 homes. This is the first conversion project in the Bulfinch Triangle, made possible by recent zoning changes that made residential an allowed use in the neighborhood, which will help to facilitate more office-to-residential conversion projects.

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The project at 615 Albany Street in the South End will create 24 homes. It is the first conversion project adding an additional floor on top to increase the number of housing units, while remaining consistent with the surrounding buildings in the historic South End neighborhood, and preserving what was originally the old Naval Blood Research Laboratory building.

"We feel extremely lucky to be able to participate in Mayor Wu's Office to Residential Conversion program," said Owner of Construo Development Greg McCarthy. "We are excited to bring dozens of new homes to both the Bulfinch triangle neighborhood and the South End, while also hopefully bolstering the activity in these neighborhoods. We are currently working with staff on two more conversion projects that will hopefully have the same or even stronger impacts on the community. I believe this program provides solutions to multiple issues that are critical both now, and for the future of Boston."

"Revitalizing the downtown area by converting office space to residential units will be a tremendous boost to the area and will help create more housing units throughout the city," said Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Committee on Ways & Means (D-Boston). "I want to thank Mayor Wu and her administration for the vision and foresight into making these conversations a reality. I look forward to more events like this as we work together to create more much needed housing units across the city."

The program, which formally launched in October of 2023, has so far received 16 applications to create a total of 780 units of housing, 142 income-restricted, across 21 buildings and convert 620,000 SF of office space to residential space. Of those applications, 595 units have been approved by the BPDA Board. More than 100 units are also expected to begin construction this fall.

"We are thrilled to see the progress the Wu Administration has made on the Office-to-Residential conversion program in Downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods," said President of the Downtown Boston Alliance Michael J. Nichols. "The proximity our workforce lives to their Downtown jobs is the single strongest correlating factor in catalyzing higher rates of office visitation, while adding residences near Downtown offers improved local foot traffic to support Downtown restaurants and retailers. This program is making a meaningful difference in providing workers and families with new opportunities to live in the heart of our city and continues to have our full support."

The Office to Residential Conversion Program provides a 75% tax abatement for 29 years as an incentive to developers to convert vacant office spaces into residential units.This spring, the City expanded the program to include student and workforce housing. The goal of this program is to support owners and developers of older commercial office building spaces in converting them to residential units, while also increasing the housing stock in Downtown Boston. The program is also designed to respond to post-pandemic economic shifts that will prioritize expanding housing options Downtown, creating an 18-hour, mixed-use neighborhood.

The application will remain open through the end of the year, with approvals given on a rolling basis. Applicants to the program would commit to pull a full building permit and start construction by Dec 31, 2026 to get these much needed units built as fast as possible.

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