I like how this is finally acknowledging WFH as something that is here to stay but I'm not sure I understand the connection with the housing crisis. From the article:

New York's famous Flatiron Building will soon be converted from empty offices into luxury residences

Luxury apartments in premium locations is the first thing I would think of too if I were a developer, but their target buyers don't sound like the sort of people who currently suffer from the housing crisis. But maybe I'm wrong and there will also be developers converting less prestigious office space into affordable housing...

The other thing I don't get is this: I don't know Manhattan but I did work in some (I assume) similar business hubs in the middle of overpriced cities and I wonder: are many people going to want to live in expensive converted office spaces if they don't work near there any longer? I mean if they were given the chance to WFH from anywhere would they still choose Manhattan? Honest question and maybe the answer is yes, because of the restaurants, culture, good schools or whatever... I would personally make different life choices if I could work completely remote, though.

[–] David_Eight@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

uxury apartments in premium locations is the first thing I would think of too if I were a developer, but their target buyers don't sound like the sort of people who currently suffer from the housing crisis.

It'll have a domino effect, more apartments in Manhattan means less people in Brooklyn, Queens, etc. meaning prices go down in the latter boroughs. I live in Jersey City across the Hudson from Manhattan and a large part of the residents here are just people who can't afford to live in Manhattan.

are many people going to want to live in expensive converted office spaces if they don't work near there any longer?

Yes, I used to live in a converted office building in Newark NJ (not far from Manhattan) and really loved it. And yes people will always want to live in NYC and especially Manhattan. Many people, myself included simply prefer living in cities. I've also looked for apartments in Manhattan and it's completely different than anywhere else.

[–] bitwolf@lemmy.one 2 points 1 year ago

I remember watching the SOHO lofts get built sitting in 78e traffic towards Hoboken every morning.

It seemed to me as if it was an old industrial revolution styled office building or warehouse being converted into apartments.

I hope to see more of that in the future

[–] doctorcrimson@lemmy.today 16 points 1 year ago

Former Commercial Zoning = Inner City

People are going to fight bare knuckle for that kind of residence at a reasonable price. They charge out the wazoo for small apartments in that area.

[–] Madison420@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

They use the flatiron building because it's very famous but essentially a nuisance at this point having been vacant for iirc over a decade because of a lawsuit.

Ed: since 2019 but that's quite awhile for the most famous like 2sq miles in America. (Which is also weird but we'll talk about that another time.)

[–] andallthat@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Ah thanks for the context, I didn't know! But doesn't my point essentially stills stand?

As more people work from home and more Flatiron-like buildings struggle to find businesses looking for offices, developers might find "ex prestigious office to luxury apartments" a more appealing conversion than "ex Walmart to affordable housing".

Also, my understanding of the housing crisis is that people can't find an affordable place to live close enough to where they work. In my country there are plenty of small towns that used to be very pretty places to live, that have very affordable housing and that are turning into ghost towns because all the jobs are concentrated in a few big cities.

If you take away the offices, less people are going to need to live in New York, San Francisco or London. Plenty of people might still choose to, of course, but there should be less competition to rent the last bed space in a filthy apartment at ludicrous prices. Or to buy a small flat in a converted former office.

[–] SnowBunting@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago

Some people choose a location for the amount of things to do. Like the bigger cities offer more bars, fairs, gyms, and other niche stuff. Meet ups are also a bit easier. This could change as people move out of bigger cities.

[–] Madison420@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

You're point holds, I just wanted to point out why they used it as an example.