Latest news with #officeConversion
CTV News
04-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
'People being on the street, people living here': Richmond Row office building is being converted to apartments
The city partnered with Farhi holdings to turn Richmond Row office space into apartments, reports CTV's Gerry Dewan. The city partnered with Farhi holdings to turn Richmond Row office space into apartments, reports CTV's Gerry Dewan. London's mayor Josh Morgan announced a new office-to-residential conversion on Tuesday. It's the city's third such project for the city, this one a partnership with Farhi Holdings. Work is already underway at 685 Richmond Street where they are taking almost 32,000 square feet of office space and converting it into 41 residential units that will house approximately 80 people. 060325 - housing Third office-to-residential project announced by the city. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London) According to Morgan, 'In the long run, people being on the street, people living here, are what supports the businesses in the area.' The offices in the four-storey building have been mostly empty for five years. Total office vacancy rates in the downtown have reached about 32 per cent, according to analysis from CBRE Limited. Morgan says the office conversions address three issues -- office vacancies, the demand for affordable housing and the goal of maintaining a vibrant downtown core. 'The people who are going to live in this building are going to walk out the doors to support the businesses and the downtown core. They're going to have opportunities to work in the downtown core as well,' said Morgan. 060325 - housing Third office-to-residential project announced by the city. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London) Ilias Korakianitis and his family members operate Dimi's Greek House, an eatery located close to where the conversion is taking place. He told those gathered for the announcement that having more downtown residents, along with increased policing and street maintenance, could bring significant improvements to the core. 'If we want downtown to come back to life, we need leadership. We need support, and we need urgent action,' he said. Farhi Holdings owner Shmuel Farhi says the conversions also prevent buildings from falling to the wrecking ball. 'Every building we adapt saves tons of concrete, glass, steel from the landfill,' said Farhi. The city has provided economic incentives amounting to about $35,000 per residential unit. Farhi told CTV News incentives are necessary because the conversions aren't easy or cheap, pointing to the heating system as one example. 'The heating that was for an office wasn't conducive to heating for residential. So that's another million dollars that we have to put there,' he said. 060325 - housing Third office-to-residential project announced by the city. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London) Morgan said the money comes from the $85 million Housing Accelerator Fund which is supported with money from the federal government. He said more downtown residential conversions are coming, including a proposed 35 storey tower planned for the southwest corner of Oxford and Richmond, where retailer Urban Outfitters was once located. That project is being spearheaded by Toronto developer Fitzrovia Real Estate.
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
German landlord Aroundtown looks to convert offices into data centres
May 28 (Reuters) - Aroundtown ( opens new tab, one of the largest German-listed landlords, is planning to convert office spaces into data centres as demand for them grows in Europe, the group said on Wednesday after announcing it had tripled its first-quarter profit. Aroundtown has been facing higher vacancy rates in its office spaces, the biggest segment of its portfolio, since the COVID-19 pandemic led to a shift to remote work. It has already been converting some of its less sought-after office rentals into serviced apartments, most of which are expected to enter operation in 2026. Timothy Wright, Aroundtown's Head of Investor Relations, said the Luxembourg-based company was in the early stages of obtaining regulatory approvals for data centre conversions and it hoped to team up with more specialised companies. Potential tenants could be companies active in businesses ranging from cloud computing to autonomous driving, he said. "In five years time, let's hope we have some data centres in our portfolio," Wright said in an interview. "It's a different asset class for us ... We need to build up the IT know-how for the setup." The main challenges for data centre conversions in Germany include municipal regulatory permit approvals and obtaining confirmation from power providers that required energy needs can be met, he said. "It takes a few years until we can get to, let's say, crystalising the gains," Wright said. So far Aroundtown has received one regulatory permit to convert an office space into a data centre in Frankfurt, though it has not yet received the go-ahead for its electricity usage. Upon obtaining the required approvals, Aroundtown could either sell the properties for quick cash or undertake the conversions itself, Wright said. Data centre tenants typically have their own specific requirements, he added, so Aroundtown would aim to ensure they are already leasing the properties before the construction to convert them begins. "You can build a data center and go to Amazon, and they're like, 'Yeah, actually, this is not really what we need,'" he said.
