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The
Revitalizing Downtowns Act, which is gathering support in
Congress, would establish a federal tax credit to support the
conversion of obsolete and excess office space into residential
or mixed-use properties, helping to bring people back to
America’s city centers.
“The one thing we know about the application of this
Revitalizing Downtowns Act is that in places like Chicago, we
know that even today the occupancy of office [space] is below
35%,” said David Downey, president and CEO of the International
Downtown Association.
“Even as we’re beginning to come out of the pandemic,” he said,
“and people are beginning to return to work, we recognize that
in places like Chicago, Springfield, and elsewhere, that there
would be a reduction in the square-foot utilization, and this is
an opportunity to rethink utilization of that space and carry it
forward with a tax credit for office conversion and begin to
address things like affordable housing in particular.”
Any qualified conversion expense up to twenty percent, according
to Downy, will be provided as a tax credit to the development
company or the owner of the building – however the redevelopment
is occurring.
The Revitalizing Downtowns Act was introduced by U.S. Sen.
Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, among others.
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