Rhode Island
Too many cubicles, too few homes spur incentives to convert offices to housing • Rhode Island Current
Read more Stateline coverage of how communities across the country are trying to create more affordable housing.
HERNDON, Va. — Juan Ramirez, watching his dog play in Chandon Park here in suburban Virginia on a Saturday morning, tries to imagine the massive office buildings next to the park becoming apartments and townhouses.
“I guess it’s inevitable. People don’t use offices as much now. I hope it’s affordable. Maybe it’ll bring more young people to town, more taxes for parks,” said Ramirez, 38, who grew up in the area and returned recently to take a restaurant management job after living in Minnesota and Ohio.
Cities and suburbs around the country are struggling with vacant office space as remote work becomes an established post-pandemic reality. States are stepping in with tax breaks and zoning changes to help replace the unwanted cubicle farms with much-needed housing. In suburbs such as Herndon, the answer might be tearing down an office complex and replacing it with a residential building. In more urban environments it might mean renovating and retrofitting office buildings to create apartments.
“Office vacancy has climbed to a 30-year high and at the same time there’s a housing shortage. So naturally the question is, ‘Why can we not convert all these vacant office buildings into housing?’” said Jessica Morin, research director for CBRE, a commercial real estate firm. CBRE research shows converting offices to other uses, mostly housing, is set to peak this year at more than 20 million square feet, up from 6.3 million in 2021.
Some places that started conversions before the pandemic are leading the way: New York state and New York City changed their laws during a 1990s downturn to allow more office-to-apartment conversions in Manhattan, although now there’s a state vs. city standoff on zoning rules to convert newer offices.
Ohio, where interest in city living grew when Cleveland spruced up its downtown for the 2016 Republican convention, now has three cities — Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus — in the top 15 list for office conversions to housing, according to CBRE.
Nationwide, 119 office conversion projects, including for residential and other use, are under construction or were completed this year, the most since CBRE began tracking them in 2016. Those projects could add about 44,000 new housing units when completed.
Since 2016, projects representing 125 million square feet of offices have or are slated to be converted to other uses, usually to housing but sometimes to warehouses or laboratories. But despite the recent increase, that represents only about 2% of all U.S. office space.
Impediments to making apartments out of offices include the still-high value of office buildings in some downtown areas in cities such as San Francisco, and the cost of demolishing or refitting old office buildings with plumbing for individual kitchens and bathrooms. Many office buildings also lack windows with natural light, which apartment-dwellers often demand.
That’s why state incentives have played a large part, as well as streamlined zoning that makes project costs more predictable for developers. Some states are further along than others. A new California law allows residential “building by right” in office and other commercial zones, meaning developers don’t have to petition for a zoning change. Washington state passed a law last year requiring cities to ease zoning requirements for housing in existing commercial buildings. And an Arizona bill signed into law this month will allow larger cities to convert more commercial buildings into housing without zoning changes.
Predictable zoning rules are important to developers who don’t want to get bogged down in negotiations and refusals that could sink a project.
“Developers just urge their states and localities to be really transparent, streamline the process, make the unknowns limited, because it’s the unknowns that drive risks,” said Julie Whelan, a vice president at CBRE. “Otherwise, they’re going to go look at the next pasture.”
Incentive programs
In addition to the Ohio cities, Chicago; Dallas/Fort Worth; Houston; Hartford and Fairfield County in Connecticut; the Kansas City metro area; Louisville, Kentucky; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Pittsburgh; Milwaukee; New Jersey; and Washington, D.C., are on CBRE’s top 15 list for rate of office space converted to apartments.
Ohio has two incentive programs for office conversion to housing. A 2020 program for “transformational” projects that could spur further development helped convert four floors of offices to apartments under construction at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. A historic building preservation incentive in place since 2007 helped partly convert Carew Tower in Cincinnati to apartments, said Mason Waldvogel, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Development.
Missouri is hoping to replicate that success in St. Louis, where about a quarter of the commercial space, including offices, is vacant. That includes the massive 44-story One AT&T Building downtown, with almost 1.5 million square feet, that sold for $3.6 million this month, compared with $205 million in 2006.
Missouri state Sen. Steven Roberts, a Democrat who represents the downtown St. Louis area, said a bill he’s sponsoring has bipartisan support from suburban Republicans, and is aimed at creating downtown areas in St. Louis and elsewhere where people can live, shop and eat as well as work. The bill was voted out of committee in February and is awaiting consideration by the full Senate.
The bill would create a state tax credit for up to 30% of the cost of converting office space to housing, retail or other uses.
“It’s a creative workaround to make downtown more vibrant and successful. We want to get more restaurants, more stores, more nightlife — and the way to do that is to get more people living there,” said Roberts. “It’s an issue for downtown and also for the whole state.”
Other states have enacted laws to encourage more conversion of offices to housing, according to a Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank report last year. Laws passed by Florida and Montana in 2023 allow new and converted multifamily housing in commercial areas, and laws in Rhode Island and Wisconsin support conversion of existing commercial and office buildings.
A Colorado bill now in committee would provide tax credits for commercial conversion to housing starting in 2026, supporting Denver’s plans to transition its office-oriented Central Business District to a “Central Neighborhood District.” Denver identified 16 commercial buildings as prime candidates for housing.
Zoning changes
Starting in the mid-1990s, a combination of state and city laws helped transform lower Manhattan’s business district with more apartments, a process that accelerated after 9/11. A proposal by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to expand the program to newer buildings failed to pass the legislature as part of a broader measure that included requirements for suburban and upstate communities to build more housing. Negotiations are continuing with lawmakers to make the change for New York City this year.
When you have a 20% office vacancy rate and a 1.4% rental apartment vacancy rate, it makes a lot of sense to substitute one for the other.
– Casey Berkovitz, spokesperson for the New York City Department of City Planning
New York City also has begun working on its own rules to allow office-to-housing conversions citywide for buildings built before 1990, said Casey Berkovitz, spokesperson for the Department of City Planning. The state could do it faster and could also create tax incentives that the city cannot create on its own, and that’s also part of current negotiations with the state legislature, Berkovitz said.
“When you have a 20% office vacancy rate and a 1.4% rental apartment vacancy rate, it makes a lot of sense to substitute one for the other,” Berkovitz said. “We don’t want our own regulations standing in the way of that if it makes financial sense.”
In Herndon, town officials last month approved a zoning change that would clear the way for demolition of the Worldgate Drive offices and the construction of a combination of rental apartments, townhouses and “two over two” units with accessory living areas an owner can rent out or share with family members. All apartments would be market rate without subsidized affordable units, Ken Wire, an attorney for the developer, Boston Properties, said at last month’s hearing on the zoning change.
“We believe that by providing more housing in the area, we are adding to the overall supply, which thereby reduces price pressures in the market,” Wire said.
Virginia considered two state Senate bills this session that would have created incentives to convert offices to apartments but neither has passed, said Allison Brown, policy associate for the nonprofit Virginia Housing Alliance. One would have created a state income tax credit for office-to-residential conversion, and another would have allowed more residential building in commercial areas if they included affordable housing.
The Worldgate Drive housing plan may spur Herndon to change its zoning rules to allow similar projects without zoning changes, said Elizabeth Gilleran, the town’s director of community development.
Herndon wants to “retain its sense of community and historic small-town feel” but also keep a strong commercial tax base that has helped support the town’s tax coffers when home values inevitably rise and fall, Gilleran said. The town recently approved conversion of a small office park and a hotel to homes. But offices and other commercial buildings will remain a key component of the town’s suburban building mix as density grows with a recent new commuter rail stop that opened in 2022.
“The town doesn’t wish to become a bedroom community,” Gilleran said.
Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: [email protected]. Follow Stateline on Facebook and Twitter.
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Rhode Island
Woman dies in Rhode Island car crash 1 month after husband of 58 years died unexpectedly
Two people are dead and another injured after a vehicle collision on Tuesday in Rhode Island.
Crews responded to the area of 212 Hartford Pike in Foster at approximately 3:15 p.m. for a two-car head-on crash with one occupant still trapped in the vehicle and not breathing.
According to WJAR 10, a vehicle traveling westbound crossed over into the eastbound lane attempting to pass several vehicles.
The operator of the passing vehicle, 34-year-old Aaron McCrory of Danielson, Connecticut, was brought to Rhode Island Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
The passenger of the second vehicle, 81-year-old Sandi Brooks of Vernon, Connecticut, was also transported to Rhode Island Hospital where she was pronounced deceased.
The driver of the second vehicle is in stable condition at Rhode Island Hospital.
82-year-old Neil Brooks, who was married to Sandi for 58 years, passed away suddenly on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.
While the crash was a terrible tragedy, we can hope that Neil and Sandi are together again.
Kevin Colantonio, 35, of North Providence, R.I., was arrested a few days after the fire at Shiloh Gospel Temple. He is expected to admit to targeting the church because of its mostly Black membership.
Burning At Shiloh Gospel Temple
United States Attorney Zachary Cunha addresses media.
PROVIDENCE, R. I. – A Rhode Island man has agreed to plead guilty to charges that he set fire to a North Providence church earlier this year, targeting it because of its mostly Black membership, according to court documents.
Kevin Colantonio of North Providence was arrested a few days after the early morning fire Feb. 11 at Shiloh Gospel Temple, a Pentecostal church.
He admitted to buying a Bic lighter and gasoline at a nearby Cumberland Farms shortly before midnight, pouring the gasoline around the outside of the church and igniting it, according to a plea agreement filed Friday in U.S. District Court, Providence.
Colantonio’s actions caused church services to be cancelled, according to court records, preventing its congregants from their free exercise of religion. He stipulated he chose the church because of actual or perceived color, race, religion, national origin or ethnicity of its members.
Surveillance video, information from witnesses and a bank card helped lead police to Colantonio. Investigators said they found racist writings in Colantonio’s apartment. Prosecutors read from one of them during Colantonio’s initial court appearance four days after the fire. It said: “Hunt them down. Gun everyone who isn’t white.”
Colantonio has also agreed to plead guilty to charges that he threw feces and urine at two prison guards who were delivering his breakfast on March 4 at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, court papers show.
Colantonio was charged with damage to a religious property, malicious damage by means of fire and two counts of assault of a federal officer. The first two counts carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The second count requires a minimum sentence of five years.
The arson unnerved the church community, which has about 100 members, and drew intense police scrutiny. Pastor Eric Perry said the fire could have been fatal if the church had been holding a service when it was set.
Rhode Island
Something savory: R.I. Food Club’s favorite dishes from around New England in 2024 – The Boston Globe
1. Steak tartare with caviar at The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic, Conn.
If you live by the Connecticut border – or are willing to travel – you should absolutely to go to The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic. Chef David Standridge, who was named the 2024 Best Chef in the Northeast by the James Beard Foundation, has made it his mission to focus on sustainability, particularly when it comes to fish. Despite my love for seafood, one of my favorite dishes there was his steak tartare on a bed of potato mille-feuille. The potatoes looked like golden strips of Texas toast, but they were crunchy on the outside and soft and smooth on the inside. Add a little bump of caviar. It’s worth it.
2. Raw fluke aquachile at Courtland Club in Providence, R.I.
Whenever I go to Courtland Club to eat food prepared by chef Nikhil Naiker, I make sure to start with some sort of crudo or other raw fish. Naiker, who cooks under the Nimki pop-up brand, has a one-year residency at Courtland Club, where he’s serving a rotating selection of bright and flavorful plates that sing to those with palates favoring citrus and salt.
Well, my heart was singing with this raw fluke aquachile this past summer. It was plated beautifully, with slices of onion adorning the white fluke.
3. Potato curry cakes at Comfort Kitchen in Dorchester, Mass.
The food at Comfort Kitchen is largely a celebration of the ingredients and flavors of the African diaspora. But some dishes draw from other international influences, such as the potato curry cakes I tasted for dinner recently. They’re seasoned with a hot, Indian-inspired spice blend and served with lemon yogurt and a savory tomato jam. Read my colleague and Globe food critic Devra First’s five-star review of the restaurant here.
4. Green curry ramen at Pickerel in Providence, R.I.
Pickerel is still considered a newcomer to Providence. The dark and intimate ramen shop on the West Side of the city, in the former Big King restaurant space, is co-owned by Spencer Smith, a longtime bartender, and Scott LaChapelle, a chef specializing in ramen and soups. I recently enjoyed a few ramen bowls with a dining companion, and their green curry ramen was quite a standout. It was a special, and Smith told our table that the recipe came from a ramen master LaChapelle previously trained under.
5. Crispy eggplant at Hangry Kitchen in Pawtucket, R.I.
While antiquing on a miserable, rainy day this past summer, I stopped into Hangry Kitchen for a late lunch and had a full spread. Out of all the dishes I tried, these crispy eggplant pieces with mole sauce were memorable. I ate them like thick steak fries, dunking and scraping the bottom of the plate to get as much mole as possible.
6. Corn ribs at Palo in Providence, R.I.
Palo, a tapas bar that has become one of my go-to spots to grab a bite in Providence, has these costillas de maíz (corn ribs) that I may have a slight addiction to at this point. They serve you a basket of them and you can customize all the fixings — paprika salt, roast lime aioli, and queso fresco — to your own liking.
7. Salt and pepper chicken from Rubato in Quincy, Mass.
Rubato is an interesting Hong Kong-style fast restaurant that opened in Quincy, Mass., in 2022. I went this past winter to taste some bao and had an incredible, well-seasoned salt-and-pepper fried chicken dish with bok choy and rice.
8. Potato croquettes from Frank & Laurie’s in Providence, R.I.
Do not sleep on the specials at Frank & Laurie’s, the new brunch spot on Doyle Avenue in Providence. The pancakes were fabulous — fluffy, with solidly sweet maple syrup. But what truly stood out to me was their puntarelle and potato croquettes, which was a special on the menu this past fall. They were perfectly crispy, filled with juicy shreds of delicious bitter greens. They were served with a side of Anchoïade, a classic French dipping sauce made from capers, olives, and anchovies.
9. Haiga-mai rice risotto with shellfish from Oberlin in Providence, R.I.
Everything about Oberlin is excellent, but there are certain dishes and specials that make you remember them months later. In February, they served a haiga-mai rice risotto with shellfish, chili and parmesan that I enjoyed with a dinner party at their chef’s counter. When it comes to flavor, haiga-mai rice falls between white and brown rice. It has a nuttier texture, like brown rice, but is chewier, like white. Haiga-mai rice goes through a special milling process that removes the bran but not the germ, which gives it a quick cooking time, makes it tender in texture, and easy to digest. Open shellfish were laid on top of the risotto as if the risotto was the bottom of a sea floor and the clams and mussels were in their natural environment.
10. Pork dumplings in chili sauce from Chong Qing House in East Providence, R.I.
Chong Qing House in East Providence is unassuming if you’re standing outside on Taunton Avenue, but inside is an authentic Szechuan restaurant. Their pork dumplings are steamed and delicate, and are served submerged in a bowl of chili sauce that’s so spicy it ignites the tongue and makes your lips numb. You’ll most certainly have leftover chili sauce. I took it home and used it in a rice bowl I made with leftover hanger steak and asparagus.
11. Spicy beed salad at Central Provisions in Portland, Maine
I dream about this dish every year until I am able to taste it. The beef carpaccio at Central Provisions packs heat, and is elevated by bits of crushed peanuts and brightened by cilantro and onions. When I go to Central Provisions, I order this dish before I even order a drink. When I’m at home in Providence, I often consider how much it might cost — and if it would even be possible — to have this dish delivered on ice.
12. Beef empanadas from The Port of Call in Mystic, Conn.
The Port of Call has become a favorite dining room around New England, where chef Reneé Touponce continues to raise the culinary bar in the tiny village of Mystic. I’ve gone into this restaurant and shared a few plates at a time with the rest of my table. But there’s one thing I can’t get out of my head: just how good the beef empanadas were. They were stuffed with sofrito, cheese, olives, and beef, and served with sides of chimichurri and charred chili aioli.
13. Pasta al Forno from Rino’s Place in East Boston, Mass.
Sometimes you just need a big bowl of pasta, particularly as the weather grows chillier. While in college, I lived right next door to Rino’s Place in East Boston, and could always smell the basil and garlic wafting into my apartment’s windows from their kitchen. I recently returned to my old stomping grounds to bring a lifelong Bostonian there so they could see what they’ve been missing out on. The pasta al forno is homemade rigatoni with mini meatballs and ricotta, topped with mozzarella and baked. It’s less than $25 and an absolutely ridiculously huge portion. I had leftovers for days.
14. Nashville hot chicken from Honeybird in East Providence, R.I.
This past fall, I sat at the bar at Honeybird in East Providence for some Nashville hot fried chicken tenders and too many sides for just two people. If you haven’t been there yet, this was a concept from Nick and Tracy Rabar of Avenue N fame that opened in August 2022. It’s located inside a restored gas station, and there are some fun tributes to the location’s former life with a backdrop of ‘90s hip hop.
16. Uni hand rolls from Mr. Tuna in Portland, Maine
In Portland, Maine, it’s hard not to root for Jordan Rubin, aka Mr. Tuna himself. The chef is an alum of Boston’s famed Uni, and has spent the better part of the last two decades nurturing his passion for Japanese cuisine. In 2017, he introduced his Mr. Tuna concept to Portland. It started as a sushi food cart and grew to a food truck and then brick-and-mortar space. The growth has been organic, and has blossomed into sister restaurant Bar Futo where they are focused on binchotan-fried cooking. At Mr. Tuna, grab a spicy tuna hand roll, sunomono salad with dashi pickles and wakame, and scallop sashimi with matsutake, pickled shiitake, shiso, and puffed rice. But my personal favorite is a DIY uni hand roll set up for $55. It includes 60 grams of uni, nori, shiso, fresh wasabi, and sushi rice. It’s pure, but also interactive and fun.
17. Pork Schnitzel from Frankie’s in Burlington, Vt.
Frankie’s was where I had one of the best meals in 2024 overall. The restaurant opened in April by some of the same folks who previously led Hen of the Wood, another Burlington staple, and offer a unique and upscale farm-to-table dining experience.
Their menu changes daily and offers things like pickled sweet corn, whole wheat brioche, and littleneck clams. But the pork schnitzel, surprisingly, was my favorite dish, with its crispy edges and juicy center. End the night with a dessert, which is always a creative version of the Vermont creemee.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.
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