Adaptive Reuse’s Makeover Moment
The best way to breathe new life into a building.
I love a rom-com. Give me all your enemies-to-lovers! The sassy best friends! And all the makeovers! So many makeovers. I can’t get enough. All it takes is a rebrand—some new shoes, fashionable clothes, and, of course, a removal of glasses, and all of a sudden, our mousy heroine catches the eye of the most popular guy in school.
Sometimes it just takes a little change to get some new attention.
Who would have thought that commercial real estate can follow the same formula that Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts perfected?
Adaptive reuse is a great way to preserve historic buildings, take advantage of limited space in cities and save developers money. After all, it’s usually cheaper to renovate a project than to start a ground-up new construction. Additionally, adaptive-reuse projects are often more sustainable than other buildings.
“With rising borrowing and construction costs and an excess of already built square footage in the U.S., we see adaptive reuse as a more efficient use of economic and material resources,” Joel Fuoss of Trivers told writer Beata Lorincz for “3 Adaptive Reuse Projects That Pop.”
Take, for example, the $200 million renovation of the 50-year-old 20 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., in Washington, D.C. Office Properties Income Trust and The RMR Group reinvigorated a staid federal building and turned it into a hip mixed-use development. According to Lorincz, the project rejuvenated the area, transforming it into a bustling destination with a hotel, retail spaces and offices. Talk about a makeover!
For more examples of conversions done right, be sure to read Lorincz’s article. I’ll be there. Who’s ready for a meet-cute?
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