San Francisco voters to see measure creating tax waiver for office to residential conversion on March ballot
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced she will be placing a measure to create a tax incentive for office to residential conversion onto the March 2024 ballot.
If passed, the measure would allow the city's transfer tax, which can be up to 6% on transactions over $25 million, to be waived. The waiver would be for qualified projects and be limited to five million square feet of space.
Planning approval for projects will need to be done by Dec. 31, 2029, and they would need to get construction approval within three years.
Also Read: San Francisco Mayor London Breed introduces Safer San Francisco ballot measure
"By removing barriers to converting office to housing, we can take vacant space, turn them into homes, and bring more people into Downtown, which is good for our neighborhoods and our small businesses," Breed said.
The city believes allowing easier conversion will help alleviate high office vacancy while also bringing new investment into downtown San Francisco.
"For Downtown to be a true, 24-hour neighborhood, it needs more than just office workers," said Sarah Dennis Phillips, Executive Director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
The measure would need a simple majority to pass.
