Developers Pursue 'Anti-NIMBYism' Solution To Add Housing In Massachusetts

As Massachusetts faces an increasingly dire housing shortage, developers are looking to the conversion of older buildings as a way to make a dent that can be faster than new construction — and face less community pushback.

As of May, Boston had 15 office-to-residential conversion projects totaling 762 units either proposed or approved. Similar conversion projects are moving forward in other Massachusetts cities like Worcester and Lowell.

With a significant number of older, historic and underutilized buildings in these cities, the state and local governments have begun to incentivize and partner on housing conversion projects to bring on more units.

Developers said Wednesday at Bisnow's Boston Adaptive Reuse & Conversion event that these types of projects are also more favored by residents because they take underutilized buildings and create something people can be proud of.

"So why adaptive reuse? I call it anti-NIMBYism," WinnDevelopment Managing Partner Lawrence Curtis said at the event, held at the Westin Copley Place Hotel.

"When you take an old office building and convert it into housing or an alternative use, or you take an old mill and you turn it into housing or an alternative use, or an old high school, you get what I call the hug fest. People actually want to see it done."

WinnDevelopment has a project planned in Worcester to convert the historic Slater Building at 390 Main St. into an apartment building. He said the project was possible because the building's U-shape makes it easy to design apartment floorplates, something that is difficult in other larger office buildings.

The state has begun to support developers in converting office buildings to housing.

In May 2024, the Healey-Driscoll administration launched its Commercial Conversion Initiative to help accelerate housing production brought on by conversion projects. MassHousing allocated up to $1M in planning funds for technical assistance for these projects, and it will work with local municipalities to identify the best buildings for conversion.

As part of its announcement, the state awarded funds to Boston-based landlord Synergy to convert office buildings at One and Two Chestnut Place in Worcester into housing in an $87M project. Synergy plans to redevelop the property into 198 market-rate apartments, relocating previous tenants to other spaces in the city.

The state has also awarded money to two projects in downtown Boston: KS Partners' 80-unit redevelopment at 50 Court Square and Dinosaur Capital Partners' 110-unit project at 31 Milk St. The Court Square project received $3.4M, and the Milk Street project received $4M.

Dinosaur Capital Managing Partner Scott Oran said at Bisnow's event that without the state funding and the city's office-to-residential payment in lieu of tax program — which gives developers an average tax reduction up to 75% for up to 29 years — his project on Milk Street wouldn't have been able to pencil.

He said his project has relied on layers of subsidy from the state, the city, and the federal government's historic tax credit.

"All of a sudden you start to see how this project that started at $350K to $400K gets subsidized, first at the city level, then at the state level and at the federal level," Oran said. "That's why this is an exciting premise today."

Of the 15 Boston office conversion projects in various stages of the process, only one is under construction: Boston Pinnacle Properties' 281 Franklin St. The project consists of 15 residential units across 11K SF. The project was also the first to obtain construction financing in March 2024.

"Boston also has a lot of building stock that is of historic nature, which the smaller floor plates in Boston allow us to convert those buildings more efficiently," Boston Pinnacle Properties Founder Adam Burns said. "Being in a city that is forward looking and has the historic stock allows us to do this."

The city this year has widened the net of participants allowed to apply for the PILOT program to include universities and employers looking to house students and workers.

It is also proposing changes as part of its PLAN: Downtown zoning guide that would help streamline planning for these projects and lift some of the barriers Boston has historically placed on development in its downtown area.

"The new plan downtown, which has been debuted and is in the process of being formalized and rolled out, removes a lot of the barriers when it comes to it and increases the available height," Boston's Downtown Conversions Senior Program Manager John Weil said. "So I think you'll find that that's very conducive to, you know, physical extension on top of adaptive reuse."

Office buildings aren't the only types of properties that are being used to bring on more housing.

Roxbury-based The Cruz Cos. was awarded state funding for its restoration and conversion of a former children's home in New Bedford into 28 mixed-income housing units. The conversion is part of a bigger project that would include 83 units across the city.

"We find that with adaptive reuse, you typically face less NIMBY just from that aspect of it, as opposed to new construction," The Cruz Cos. Chief Operating Officer Justin Cruz said. "We're usually taking an old, sometimes dilapidated building and turning it into something of value for the neighborhood, increasing the value for the people that live there."

WinnDevelopment specializes in converting old mill houses, primarily in Gateway Cities like Lowell and Lawrence, into housing. Last year, the company opened its Stone Mill Lofts apartment complex in Lawrence. The adaptive reuse project cost $39.2M and transformed the oldest mill in the city into 86 mixed-income units. 

"Older buildings, not necessarily historic, are a great way to help make a dent in the crisis," Curtis said. "Yes, we're hoping to make profit, and that is certainly a key ingredient, but the outcomes are worth the wait."