Adaptive Reuse

Adaptive reuse is the process of adapting old structures for new purposes. When the original use of a structure changes or is no longer required, planners have the opportunity to change the primary function of the structure, while retaining some of the existing architectural details that make the building unique. Adaptive reuse may be more efficient, less expensive, and more environmentally responsible than new construction. Adaptive reuse projects have involved old school buildings, train stations, hospitals, and other public buildings; inns and hotels; and warehouses, factories, and other industrial buildings. These buildings have been converted into apartments, condominiums, co-housing projects, and live-work spaces. 

During the Housing Element Process...

• Conduct a Survey. A comprehensive survey can help identify the extent of adaptive reuse possibilities within a community. The survey could address the propertys location, age, configuration, and structural condition, along with various political, financing, and tax-related considerations that may be applicable.
• Review Regulations. Review the Zoning Ordinance, historic preservation ordinances, and other development regulations for language and standards that allow or encourage adaptive reuse.

Potential Programs and Actions

• Revise the Zoning Ordinance. Encourage adaptive reuse through flexible zoning, such as mixed use, or by allowing residences as a permitted use in certain commercial and industrial zones.
• Adopt Design Guidelines. Design guidelines can provide useful parameters for adaptive reuse projects and help make developments and the neighborhood as a whole more attractive for residents.
• Promote Multiple Objectives. Non-profit and for-profit developers have been able to combine creative planning, government grants and loans, and federal tax incentives not only to rescue individual sites but also to spark neighborhood revitalization.
• Provide Useful Information. Special handbooks written for building officials can provide guidance for meeting building code requirements for older buildings.
• Identify Key Officials. Where public buildings are involved, cooperative public officials are invaluable. Cooperation includes expediting the property transfer and supporting the rehabilitation process with loans, grants, and rent subsidies where needed.
• Use Available Resources. Historical tax credits and programs and organizations supportive of preservation will provide additional clout and resources for adaptive reuse.

Resources

The Green Guide for Rehab, a joint project of Bay Area LISC and Build it Green, a California based non-profit organization promoting healthy and energy efficient housing, was developed to help affordable housing owners and their consultants integrate green building and energy efficiency into the upgrades of their multifamily properties. The Green Guide for Rehab explains the technologies and shows the opportunities for existing properties to 'go green.' The guide is designed to be used in tandem with an energy audit, building walkthrough, or site assessment that occurs at the outset of any rehabilitation project.