With the building more than half vacant, the new owners of the Tower Life Building plan to convert the historic tower into residences that could include affordable housing.
A historic San Antonio office building is set to be redeveloped into housing with mixed-use facilities on the street level, reports Iris Dimmick for the San Antonio Report.
According to Dimmick, “While full details of the building renovation and unit rental prices are pending, according to building owners, the initial plan is to convert the office space into 234 housing units, half of which could be reserved for households who make 80% or less than the area median income (AMI) and 23 of the units for households making 60% AMI.”
At present, San Antonio’s Tower Life building is only 40 percent occupied, and the retail space on the ground floor has been vacant for more than two decades. The plan is a harbinger of the future of urban office buildings, many of which will likely be converted into housing as demand for physical office space falls and the housing shortage grows.
The plan to revitalize the building calls for removing the concrete barrier that blocks access to San Antonio’s River Walk, which at the time of the building’s construction in 1929 was still an untamed river that posed flood risk. Today, the River Walk is downtown San Antonio’s main attraction.
FULL STORY: Tower Life Building adding residential, may include affordable housing
Surveying the Rising Trend of Office-to-Residential Conversions
With office vacancies climbing and a stubborn supply crunch driving up the cost of housing, some downtowns have emerged at the forefront of a new wave of adaptive reuse.
Toward a System of Adaptive Reuse Feasibility
A relative lack of conversions from office to residential—the adaptive reuse model driving the housing market in many urban areas—makes the Washington, D.C. region a perfect place to study the factors that make or break an adaptive reuse proposal.
Old Walls, New Homes
From forgotten buildings to thriving neighborhoods, adaptive reuse has the power to transform our cities.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
A Troubling Trend of Backlash to Bike Lanes
Some cities are going so far as to rip out protected bike infrastructure that took years of advocacy to build.
USDOT Revokes Approval for NYC Congestion Pricing
Despite the administration’s stated concern for the “working class,” 85 percent of Manhattan commuters use public transit to enter the city.
Parks for All: LA Looks to Residents to Help Shape Park Equity and Access
Los Angeles is launching a citywide park needs assessment to gather resident input on improving its park system, addressing inequities in access, and making the case for increased funding and long-term investments.
Trump Administration Takes Aim at Transportation Research
Researchers warn of a “chilling environment” as studies examining road safety and other topics are killed off and layoffs hit federal agencies.
LA’s Trees Absorb More Carbon Than Expected, But Can’t Do It Alone
A USC study finds that Los Angeles’ urban trees absorb more carbon than expected, but while they provide crucial environmental benefits, they cannot replace the urgent need for systemic emissions reductions.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Roaring Fork Transportation Authority
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research