Mayor London N. Breed has put forth a ballot measure to boost investment in Downtown San Francisco by waiving the city’s transfer tax on non-residential buildings that have been converted into residential properties. This proposal, slated for the March 2024 ballot, aims to encourage more underutilized office buildings to be transformed into housing.
The measure is part of Mayor Breed’s comprehensive plan consisting of nine strategies aimed at positioning Downtown San Francisco for its next phase. One key strategy is promoting flexibility and new uses in existing structures. To this end, Mayor Breed introduced legislation effective August 2023 that amended city codes to allow for flexible zoning and established an Adaptive Reuse Program streamlining the approval process and requirements for converting underused office spaces into residential units.
In addition, over the summer months, Mayor Breed’s administration issued a Request for Interest seeking insights on financial and regulatory challenges faced by specific projects involving conversion from offices to residences. Eliminating transfer taxes is seen as a crucial step towards achieving this goal according to her office.
“By removing obstacles hindering such conversions,” said Mayor Breed “we can transform vacant spaces into homes while bringing more people downtown – benefiting our neighborhoods as well as small businesses.”
