Everything old is new again. This adage comes to mind as organizations look for innovative ways of housing, inspiring and protecting their workforces. This doesn’t have to mean constructing shiny new buildings. Workplaces are being constructed in aging commercial structures, as renovation repositions them for their next chapters. In fact, adaptive reuse creates an opportunity to not only update the aesthetics of a structure, but to push the envelope in design and construction by transforming aging buildings into high performing workplaces.
Renovating can translate into better resiliency for an organization. The move away from a typical cubicle grid setup to a more adaptive, activity-based office, with various types of spaces and reconfigurable work areas, allows businesses to pivot quickly and react to changes, such as the need for physical distancing. Adaptive reuse is also praised for being more cost-effective and energy efficient than building from the ground up, with proponents pointing to the ability to create more economically and environmentally sustainable communities.
There are also significant schedule benefits to adaptive reuse. A retrofit can get a vacant space back on the market, generating revenue much faster than with a tear down and new build. “Time is money for building owners. Interest carry and lost revenue can be mitigated with a shorter construction schedule,” says Matt O’Malley, Commercial core market leader at DPR Construction.
There are major benefits when it comes to the exterior envelope, as well. “Typically, the area where older buildings perform the worst with regard to energy and thermal comfort is the exterior wall,” says O’Malley. The technology of the glazing and curtainwall industry has advanced significantly in the last 40 years, and this is a big driver for many office developers and owners.
Adaptive Reuse Impacts the Bottom Line
By adapting older buildings for reuse, construction companies and their customers can alleviate the high costs associated with new construction and the purchase of new land, which are typically higher in urban areas. In 2016, the National Trust’s Research & Policy Lab studied the revitalization of downtown areas and found that new commercial development costs about $92 per square foot compared to $37 per square foot, the estimated cost for rehabilitating an older building. And with a structure already in place, little or no demolition is required. Many of the utilities and services required for the establishment of functioning buildings are already connected, as well.
Federal and state tax credits can also help alleviate costs for those who renovate rather than build new. Federal credits can be applied to projects that are historic in nature. There are also local tax credits available when certain provisions are met, and some cities such as Los Angeles and Phoenix have instituted adaptive reuse programs that make it easier for business owners and developers to repurpose old spaces. There is a significant opportunity to do so: in 2012, the University of Michigan estimated there were 5.6 million existing commercial buildings, covering 87 billion square feet of floor space. The commercial building stock is still fairly old, according to another survey from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, with about half of all buildings constructed before 1980; the median age of buildings in 2012 was 32 years.”