Rep. Schiff proposes bill to turn government buildings into affordable housing – Orange County Register
The U.S. government is estimated to have 45,000 underutilized buildings, and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, wants to see this vast resource repurposed to combat the nation’s affordable housing crisis.
That’s why, on Tuesday morning, April 1, he introduced the Government Facilities to Affordable Housing Conversion Act. If passed, the bill would create an annual report on government properties suitable for residential reuse and provide $250 million each year from fiscal year 2025 to 2030 to encourage conversion projects.
“At a time when so many Americans continually struggle to find safe, affordable housing, the Converting Government Facilities to Affordable Housing Act represents a step forward in our efforts to solve the housing crisis,” Schiff said in a statement. “By reusing government buildings that have survived their original use, we not only use our resources efficiently, but we also increase the supply of affordable housing. »
Schiff, running for U.S. Senate in California in November, has touted adaptive reuse of buildings as one of his key strategies to address the nation’s homelessness and housing affordability crises, both of which have reached record levels.
A recent Harvard University study found that 22.4 million households, or about half of the nation’s renters, are “rent-burdened,” meaning they pay 30 percent or more of their income to housing.
There is a shortage of 7 million affordable housing units in the United States for renters below the poverty line or renters who earn 30% or less of their area’s median income, according to a report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. California must build 2.5 million new housing units by 2030, 1 million of which must be affordable, to meet the state’s housing needs, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
“We cannot stand idly by while the housing shortage displaces families and erodes the middle class. It’s time to employ a broad range of strategies to ensure every American has access to safe, affordable housing,” Schiff said.
Schiff’s bill would direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to facilitate the conversion of properties owned by federal, state, and local governments into affordable residential rental projects.
The legislation would require an annual report examining whether federally owned real estate is being maximized, whether the amount of federally owned real estate should be reduced, and whether it can be converted into housing.
It would also create a $250 million grant fund for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030, which states, federally recognized Indian tribes, and local governments could use to cover the cost of purchasing eligible buildings and transform into affordable housing.
The bill is co-sponsored by California Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Riverside, and Rhode Island Rep. Gabe Amo, D-Pawtucket. It has the support of the California State Association of Counties, the National Association of Realtors, the National Community Development Association and People Assisting the Homeless.
The California Legislature also champions adaptive reuse as a core strategy for addressing the state’s housing crisis.
Much of that charge has been led by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, who represents many low-income renters in his district in Central and South Los Angeles.
In 2022, Newsom signed Santiago’s AB 1695, which authorizes state funding and loans for the conversion of existing buildings into affordable multifamily housing. That same year, Newsom signed AB 2011 allowing housing construction on underutilized commercial sites currently zoned for retail, offices and parking.
While adaptive reuse seems promising in theory, it can be difficult in practice.
Not all buildings are well suited to conversion, and bringing office or commercial structures into compliance with the detailed requirements of the California Housing and Zoning Code can be costly and time-consuming. Bills add up quickly as buildings are modified with air conditioning, windows, plumbing, seismic retrofits and more in order to become habitable.
In March, Santiago introduced two new pieces of legislation to help address these issues by cutting red tape and creating more funding incentive programs.
AB 2909 would expand the Mills Act to make a funding pool available for adaptive reuse projects. AB 2910 would allow cities that comply with state housing laws to develop their own zoning codes to make it easier to approve adaptive reuse projects.
“Adaptive reuse is a critical tool for addressing California’s housing crisis and furthering our sustainability goals while breathing new life into the state’s downtown areas,” Santiago said in a March 12 statement. . “We can do this by cutting red tape and creating more incentives through our bills AB 2909 and AB 2910.”
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