Developers boil it down to a lack of financing and, ironically, available inventory. Of the city’s nearly 90 million square feet of office space, only 13% of those buildings are viable candidates for conversion, according to the controller’s office.
“This was the single biggest thing we can do as a city,” Anne Taupier, director of joint development at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said of the fee reduction. “Developers are telling us that they can now start looking at building acquisitions. This is a signal to lenders that they can come back to San Francisco. We are worth the risk.”
Next up is creating a special financing district that would essentially freeze property tax values for 30 years, thus guaranteeing more returns for investors. Assemblymember Phil Ting’s AB 2488, which was signed into law last year, has paved the way for this in downtowns across the state.
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