The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection has introduced new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings, aiming to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing in specific zoning districts downtown. 

Led by SOM Adaptive Reuse Practice Leader and Associate Principal Lisa Follman, the Commercial-to-Residential Adaptive Reuse Task Group was a collaborative effort among The Department of Building Inspection, the San Francisco Fire Department, San Francisco Planning Department, the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, community partners, and industry experts.

“By working together, we hope to unlock the ability to create more housing and re-energize San Francisco’s downtown,” said Follman. “By establishing clear guidance, we hope to enable architects, engineers, and developers to find innovative design solutions to unlock the potential of these historic buildings.”

Previously, developers could not accurately predict or calculate the upgrades needed to adapt a building for residential use, dissuading conversions. The new guidelines clarify requirements in advance and are expected to lower design and construction costs while reducing construction permitting times for downtown commercial-to-residential conversions. They can also reduce adaptive reuse building code provisions related to building envelope, exterior walls and openings, means of egress, ventilation, lighting, unit size, earthquake safety, and accessibility. 

This effort builds on the progress San Francisco has already made to improve housing-related building permit review and issuance times and is one component of Mayor London Breed’s recently announced 30×30 Plan to convert at least 5 million square feet of office space to approximately 5,000 units of housing by 2030. 

“There are many buildings that may benefit from these adaptive reuse guidelines,” said Department of Building Inspection Director Patrick O’Riordan. “The important thing is that we find ways to help developers convert these older office buildings without sacrificing residential safety requirements. These guidelines strike just the right balance and should add more certainty to the design and review processes.”