Empty office buildings in Melbourne’s CBD could be turned into apartments and create as many as 12,000 homes, new research has discovered.
A study, conducted by architecture firm Hassell, for the Property Council of Australia, discovered about 86 buildings that could be repurposed as a way to ease the state’s burgeoning housing crisis.
Many of the buildings are office towers, which are still empty following work-from-home orders applied during the pandemic, according to the Herald Sun.
The study found that, subject to feasibility studies, many of the buildings could be adapted for residential housing.
Even if only half of the buildings were repurposed, the study showed between 10,000 and 12,000 new affordable homes could be created in the city centre.
“We saw this as a big opportunity to work with the whole sector which is probably a bit flat at the moment given the occupancy situation in the city post Covid,” Ingrid Bakker, Hassell’s principal architect and the study’s lead, said.
“There’s a bit of a radical rethink that needs to happen around looking at these buildings that obviously aren’t performing very well because a lot of them are empty.”
The study specifically targeted buildings erected before 1990, attributing their selection to the potential need for upgrades and their suitable scale for residential purposes.
Moreover, many of these structures have yet to maximise the city’s height limits, providing developers a chance to augment these buildings within the current regulations.
While Ms Bakker acknowledged that not every office building could be revamped into a residential space, she emphasised, “there are some that definitely can and we’re trying to demonstrate how”.
Property Council’s Victoria Deputy Executive director Andrew Lowcock said sub-prime office space in Melbourne’s CBD was under-utilised.
“With the housing crisis putting significant strain on many Victorians, it’s important that government and the private sector examine innovative solutions,” he said.
“Adaptive reuse could, with the right policy settings, create new housing supply in locations where amenity, transport connections and jobs already exist.
“There is also a significant sustainability dividend to be gained from re-purposing vacant office space and turning it into desperately needed homes.”
