{"id":1004744961,"date":"2025-02-03T12:24:51","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T20:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004744961"},"modified":"2026-02-26T09:14:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:14:29","slug":"cbds-get-new-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/","title":{"rendered":"CBDs Get New Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1004745036\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/03_penn-station_fxcollaborative\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,596\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"03_Penn Station_FXCollaborative\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;For the redevelopment of New York City\u2019s Penn Station, FXCollaborative\u2019s design emphasizes better integration with Midtown Manhattan\u2019s surrounding streets. Rendering courtesy of FXCollaborative&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;For the redevelopment of New York City\u2019s Penn Station, FXCollaborative\u2019s design emphasizes better integration with Midtown Manhattan\u2019s surrounding streets. Rendering courtesy of FXCollaborative&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative.jpg?w=1024\" height=\"509\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"For the redevelopment of New York City\u2019s Penn Station, FXCollaborative\u2019s design emphasizes better integration with Midtown Manhattan\u2019s surrounding streets. Rendering courtesy of FXCollaborative\" class=\"wp-image-1004745036\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative.jpg?resize=300,149 300w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative.jpg?resize=768,381 768w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative.jpg?resize=1024,509 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">For the redevelopment of New York City\u2019s Penn Station, FXCollaborative\u2019s design emphasizes better integration with Midtown Manhattan\u2019s surrounding streets. <em>Rendering courtesy of FXCollaborative<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap has-medium-font-size\">Central business districts across many U.S. cities are not what they used to be. A once-in-a-century pandemic and its subsequent effects on work, travel and shopping habits has fueled an urban exodus that has yet to be fully reversed in cities of all shapes and sizes across the nation. In some cities, the roots of retreating businesses and residents go back further. Think auto-plant closures in Detroit and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to data from the University of Toronto\u2019s School of Cities, the median rate of change in foot traffic across many cities across the nation from May 2023 through May 2024 was negative 3.1 percent, with 33 of the 54 surveyed cities recording downward-trending levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-fl-body-text-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/mydigitalpublication.com\/publication\/?i=839829\" style=\"background-color:#1bb1ae\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>READ THE MAGAZINE<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Hybrid work and widespread layoffs in the tech industries share some of the blame, but their effects alone don\u2019t account for the absence of people on streets. In the minds of many urban planners, it all boils down to perception. Downtown simply being a place to work is no longer a good enough reason to consistently spend one\u2019s time and money there, especially amid longstanding safety concerns in urban cores such as Chicago and San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The remedies to these urban ailments may look entirely different from city to city, but the general thesis is the same: They need to become places where people go of their own volition, where accessibility and experiences are equally as important as having the shiniest buildings. If developers and urban planners get this right, higher property values and tax revenues will follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-problems-of-perception\">Problems of perception<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pandemic or not, many of these declines can be attributed to the ways that urban cores across the U.S. have been built. They are biased toward the office sector. A report from Cushman &amp; Wakefield, titled &#8220;Reimagining Cities: Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop,&#8221; found that 69.7 percent of space in regionally significant walkable urban areas is devoted to office, government or educational facilities. In contrast, living and playing spaces make up a respective 15.9 and 14.5 percent of space downtown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re all purpose-built around homogeneity,\u201d said Brian Jencek, HOK\u2019s director of planning and landscape architecture. \u201cWe tended to build our cities like bento boxes, where everything is compartmentalized by use. And many downtowns don\u2019t offer midtown walkability or depth of experiences.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/1001Woodward-10_lrg.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1004745039\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/1001woodward-10_lrg\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/1001Woodward-10_lrg.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,800\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Jason Robinson Photography&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;SmithGroup&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"1001Woodward 10_lrg\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;The redesigned plaza at 1001 Woodward, a downtown Detroit office tower, offers a pedestrian- and transportation-friendly space, creating a more welcoming experience for passersby. Photo courtesy of SmithGroup&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The redesigned plaza at 1001 Woodward, a downtown Detroit office tower, offers a pedestrian- and transportation-friendly space, creating a more welcoming experience for passersby. Photo courtesy of SmithGroup&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/1001Woodward-10_lrg.jpg?w=1024\" height=\"683\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/1001Woodward-10_lrg.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"The redesigned plaza at 1001 Woodward, a downtown Detroit office tower, offers a pedestrian- and transportation-friendly space, creating a more welcoming experience for passersby. Photo courtesy of SmithGroup\" class=\"wp-image-1004745039\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/1001Woodward-10_lrg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/1001Woodward-10_lrg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/1001Woodward-10_lrg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/1001Woodward-10_lrg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The redesigned plaza at 1001 Woodward, a downtown Detroit office tower, offers a pedestrian- and transportation-friendly space, creating a more welcoming experience for passersby. <em>Photo courtesy of SmithGroup<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And high office vacancy rates don\u2019t help. \u201cIf people aren\u2019t coming back and a building doesn\u2019t have enough people in, say, the office part, they\u2019re not using the retail,\u201d observed Mark Rose, CEO of Avison Young, which, in a recent office utilization report, found office properties to be 60.8 percent as busy in 2024 as they were in 2019. In turn, empty ground-floor retail, or any inactivated urban space for that matter, elicits safety concerns from residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe feeling that downtown is less safe than it used to be is probably because there are less people downtown,\u201d said Michael Edwards, CEO of the Chicago Loop Alliance, a local business organization that supports the construction and preservation of walkable plazas, museums and entertainment, all backboned by a near constant schedule of public events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-low-hanging-fruit-walkability\">Low-hanging fruit: walkability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Recent urban renewal initiatives emphasize aesthetically appealing lines of sight and event-filled streetscapes. Active corner restaurants, event spaces, quality landscaping and art installations all dovetail into appealing to as broad a population as possible, be it families, tourists or office tenants. The hope is that residential life may renew enthusiasm for living downtown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYes, there are wonderful places to dine, but we stopped paying attention to the actual quality of the surface we are walking on, the trees that we are sitting under,\u201d noted Jencek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even the lobbies of office buildings make a world of difference for passersby. Jencek\u2019s firm oversaw the repositioning of JPMorgan Chase Tower in downtown Houston, which included the addition of an exterior plaza complete with trellises, synthetic lawns and a Louvre-style glass pyramid covering the building\u2019s entrance. A once-lonely Joan Mir\u00f3 sculpture is flanked by an outdoor garden that feeds directly into the Theater District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-fl-accent-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-2e0892fe799806273079103fc2661930\">&#8220;If there are people on the street, it means that people are living and working there. Regardless of everything else, somebody is doing something right from a policy perspective.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\">\u2014 Sheryl Schulze, Co-Managing Director &amp; Building<br>Transformation &amp; Adaptive Reuse Leader, Gensler<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, accessibility through multiple footpaths alongside integrations with public transportation provides ease of access for otherwise reluctant pedestrians or employees seeking shorter commutes.<br>In a collaboration with New York City\u2019s Fifth Avenue Association, FXCollaborative unveiled a design for reducing the number of traffic lanes from five to three, easing access to places like Museum Mile and Grand Central Station. \u201cIn the public realm, we need to reclaim and rebalance our streets to create more of an uplifting environment,\u201d observed Dan Kaplan, a senior partner at the firm, which has also been involved in pedestrian-centric redesigns at Penn Station, as well as the lobby of 3 Times Square. \u201cThese are places where the cities and populations mix.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Hilary Bertsch, a principal &amp; executive director at Perkins Eastman, which designed The Wharf, a 24-acre, 3.2 million-square-foot infill mixed-use district located along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the focus was \u201con the public realm and the podium,\u201d even before a single construction worker started on the site back in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HIPDT_TheBookDepository_McMonigalAngie_230829_10748_lip.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1004745042\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/hipdt_thebookdepository_mcmonigalangie_230829_10748_lip\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HIPDT_TheBookDepository_McMonigalAngie_230829_10748_lip.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,800\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;16&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Angie McMonigal&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7RM4&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1693321808&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;\\u00a9Angie McMonigal Photography LLC&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"HIPDT_TheBookDepository_McMonigalAngie_230829_1074+8_lip\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;An abandoned Detroit post office was redeveloped into a book depository for the city\u2019s public schools, illustrating  how redesigning old buildings can breathe new life into urban cores struggling with identity crises and concerns about safety. Photo courtesy of Gensler&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;An abandoned Detroit post office was redeveloped into a book depository for the city\u2019s public schools, illustrating  how redesigning old buildings can breathe new life into urban cores struggling with identity crises and concerns about safety. Photo courtesy of Gensler&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HIPDT_TheBookDepository_McMonigalAngie_230829_10748_lip.jpg?w=1024\" height=\"683\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HIPDT_TheBookDepository_McMonigalAngie_230829_10748_lip.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"An abandoned Detroit post office was redeveloped into a book depository for the city\u2019s public schools, illustrating  how redesigning old buildings can breathe new life into urban cores struggling with identity crises and concerns about safety. Photo courtesy of Gensler\" class=\"wp-image-1004745042\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HIPDT_TheBookDepository_McMonigalAngie_230829_10748_lip.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HIPDT_TheBookDepository_McMonigalAngie_230829_10748_lip.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HIPDT_TheBookDepository_McMonigalAngie_230829_10748_lip.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HIPDT_TheBookDepository_McMonigalAngie_230829_10748_lip.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An abandoned Detroit post office was redeveloped into a book depository for the city\u2019s public schools, illustrating  how redesigning old buildings can breathe new life into urban cores struggling with identity crises and concerns about safety.<em> Photo courtesy of Gensler<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In a formerly decrepit fish market district, a mix of restaurants, retailers and residences line a one-mile pedestrian pathway. \u201cFrom the fish market to a waterfront park, there was an intentionality about the design for the public programs both on the outside as well as the tenanting on the inside of the ground floor,\u201d Bertsch detailed. \u201cIt\u2019s appropriate for all sorts of people, (from) someone during lunch at their office to families coming down there on the weekends.\u201d With 6 percent vacancy, the Wharf\u2019s office fundamentals provide proof of concept when compared to downtown D.C.\u2019s vacancy rate of 21.1 percent, which is 170 basis points above the national average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Edwards is a fan of the walkability and transit-adjacent accessibility strategy, and sees value in allowing pedestrians to do everything that could possibly be of interest upon exiting the Chicago Loop. \u201c(The Loop) is a concentrated place, encircled by public transit system trains,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cIf you are standing in front of the Chicago theater, you can see where food row is, you can see where the park is going down to the lake. Once you are down there, you can walk to everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-activation-is-everything\">Activation is everything<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Having the nicest landscaping and most walkable urban centers means little if they aren\u2019t lively and activated. When designing new projects, Smith Group, for instance, will often ask: \u201cIs there a way to integrate daytime and nighttime functions?\u201d according to Dan Kinkead, a senior principal &amp; director of urban design at the firm. \u201cThose are things we tend to look at with clients and developers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Flexibility is important, too. Seasonal retailers and food and beverage offerings give downtown character. \u201cThey\u2019re no longer the restaurants or the museums you\u2019ve been to 100 times,\u201d said Jencek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, a placemaking consulting firm, took this to heart in its curation of Midtown Manhattan\u2019s Bryant Park. Be it for employees at Salesforce Tower or tourists from across the world, \u201cyou have a choice of getting food with movable seats, and then the other options are things that are there all day long\u2014a reading room, pingpong and shuffleboard,\u201d detailed Dan Biederman, the company\u2019s founder &amp; CEO. Seasonal events include tours, a skating rink and classes in everything from beekeeping to birding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Programming a space also creates a positive feedback loop, particularly for developers. Bertsch noted that while people have always visited the Wharf for various events, over time, the opportunities and momentum of the offerings have grown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Above all else, Kinkead strongly advises urban planners and commercial real estate developers to \u201cunderstand the context of the community itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HOK_600_Travis_Sony_0945_HR-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1004745044\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/hok_600_travis_sony_0945_hr-1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HOK_600_Travis_Sony_0945_HR-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,799\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;\\u00a9 2021 Michael Robinson&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7RM4&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1629368714&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2022 Michael Robinson&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;17&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"HOK_600_Travis_Sony_0945_HR (1)\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;The reimagined plaza outside JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston was once a bare concrete walkway housing a Joan Mir\u00f3 sculpture, but it now features green space and seating areas that give way to a more aesthetically pleasing lobby at the tower. Photo courtesy of HOK&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The reimagined plaza outside JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston was once a bare concrete walkway housing a Joan Mir\u00f3 sculpture, but it now features green space and seating areas that give way to a more aesthetically pleasing lobby at the tower. Photo courtesy of HOK&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HOK_600_Travis_Sony_0945_HR-1.jpg?w=1024\" height=\"682\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HOK_600_Travis_Sony_0945_HR-1.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"The reimagined plaza outside JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston was once a bare concrete walkway housing a Joan Mir\u00f3 sculpture, but it now features green space and seating areas that give way to a more aesthetically pleasing lobby at the tower. Photo courtesy of HOK\" class=\"wp-image-1004745044\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HOK_600_Travis_Sony_0945_HR-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HOK_600_Travis_Sony_0945_HR-1.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HOK_600_Travis_Sony_0945_HR-1.jpg?resize=768,511 768w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/HOK_600_Travis_Sony_0945_HR-1.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The reimagined plaza outside JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston was once a bare concrete walkway housing a Joan Mir\u00f3 sculpture, but it now features green space and seating areas that give way to a more aesthetically pleasing lobby at the tower. <em>Photo courtesy of HOK<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-live-in-live-work-play\">The \u201clive\u201d in live-work-play<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In cities with blocks worth of vacant space, conversions to multifamily or more mixed-use space may seem to be the ideal solution, especially if the housing component is affordable for most residents. But from architectural, financial and even sustainability perspectives, this is often easier said than done. San Francisco, which is dealing with a rush of post-pandemic vacancies, for example, has almost no office-to-residential conversions on deck due to building code challenges as well as high development costs, according to Julie Whelan, CBRE\u2019s global head of occupier research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best candidates are those with tighter floor-plate dimensions and window patterns that best suit apartment living, Kinkead said, with the Northeast being chock full of prime candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But according to CBRE, Cleveland is currently leading the country in office-to-residential conversions, with 3.5 million square feet of projects underway. \u201cThey have really done their best to remove the red tape around zoning, permitting and creating certainties around their process,\u201d Whelan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Sheryl Schulze, comanaging director &amp; building transformation &amp; adaptive reuse leader at Gensler, a healthy urban core boils down to sound policy\u2014both from stakeholders and public entities. Schulze oversees the firm\u2019s office in Ohio and has witnessed the apartment conversions firsthand. \u201cIf there are people on the street, it means that people are living and working there,\u201d Schulze said. \u201cRegardless of everything else, somebody is doing something right from a policy perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-background\" style=\"background-color:#16a19a33\"><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mydigitalpublication.com\/publication\/?i=839829\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read the February 2025 issue of CPE.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can urban planners and developers turn 9-to-5 districts into 24\/7 neighborhoods?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3012,"featured_media":1004745035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1521,21808,21785,51037],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004744961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital","category-featured","category-property-management","category-trends"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v24.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>CBDs Get New Life - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CBDs Get New Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Can urban planners and developers turn 9-to-5 districts into 24\/7 neighborhoods?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-03T20:24:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T17:14:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative-feature.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"794\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"596\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gabriel Frank\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/\",\"name\":\"CBDs Get New Life - Commercial Property Executive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative-feature.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-03T20:24:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-26T17:14:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/cf1bfd2d6753f6ea305911ffd020862c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cbds-get-new-life\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative-feature.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/01\/03_Penn-Station_FXCollaborative-feature.jpg\",\"width\":794,\"height\":596,\"caption\":\"Finance. 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