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There's a quiet housing fix spreading across California (www.sfgate.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/california@lemmy.world
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TLDR: Cities are allowing developers to re-zone retail units that go un-leased. They can then be converted into live-work studios so people can run businesses from home ie. an artist running a home studio, a massage therapist taking clients, a home daycare, etc. Seems this could really help with California’s chronic housing crisis.

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[–] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The success of this largely depends on the building itself though, so don't expect this to be a miracle cure as mileage may vary.

The older the property, the more these costs mount against this idea. Why? The cost to redo the plumbing for kitchens or bathrooms and even electrical for appliances to make them livable is quite literally more than the value of the entire property many times. Again, it's not a cure, it's a bandaid.

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I think in California that real estate is very valuable and these property developments are mostly modern, so it’s well worth it for real estate developers to make these changes if the areas have enough foot traffic. There’s nothing worse in California than paying millions of dollars for property and then having retail sit vacant for potentially years.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    In California, it's not unusual to see single floor retail being replaced with five (or more) residential spaces over a single floor commercial space, especially where there is significant housing demand. Higher density, nearby customers, and less need for excess parking.

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