In Calgary, the economic capital of Alberta (Canada), the huge company buildings ring hollow. Almost a third of the offices are uninhabited, i.e. more than 1.3 million square meters empty. The 2014 oil shock passed, as did the pandemic that gave telecommuting wings.

At the same time, the vacancy rate of 2.7% continues to fall rapidly, making it increasingly difficult to look for an apartment. The City Faces to a complex crisis and decided to respond. To curb downtown degradation and desperation while increasing rental supply, Calgary is investing heavily in a program that encourages building owners to convert their offices into living space.

” Our goal is to deduct more than 500 000 square meters of office space by 2031 », explains Nathalie Marchut, Manager of Development and Strategy for the City of Calgary. So far, five projects have been announced with a converted area of ​​62,000 square meters. More are being planned, so that a total of 2,000 residential units will be built.

The city has tried to make the program as accessible as possible, she continues:

“ We didn’t add any specific requirements, so candidates don’t have to prove, for example, that the buildings will be very energy efficient. We wanted to attract as many builders as possible. However, since the program is very competitive, those who apply try to be as environmentally friendly as possible. »

From “very competitive »You have to understand that Calgary gives developers a lot of money to fund building remodels. To convert nearly 10,000 square meters into 100 apartments, a project bordering on $40 million, Maxim Olshevsky, president of real estate group Peoplefirst, will receive nearly $8 million from the city: ” This is important to us and encourages us to invest here. »

Investors want more

Municipal support is capped at $15 million per building, but exceptions are possible. Part of the reason Calgary rains tickets is because an empty downtown is a bottomless pit. The value of the buildings of it Downtown down 68%, or nearly $17 billion, since 2015. The result is an enormous shortfall in tax revenue. “ We just had no choice, we had to try something ! » starts Nathalie Marchut.

The telephone in City Hall has been ringing non-stop since the program was launched two years ago. The original budget allocated was $45 million, but due to demand, the city has since spent $162 million.

“ We knew significant help would be required to attract owners. But so far, for every public dollar we invest, we’ve received three dollars in private investment. : The model works »supports the manager.

This initiative is the second part of a strategy that started in 2015. Calgary has approved the elimination of the application for “development” permits within buildings for part of downtown, meaning that any change of use (and facade) within the same building no longer has to go through the phase of administrative ping-pong between City Hall departments .

Maxim Olshevsky was surprised how quickly he received the license to convert: ” Two months ! There are cities where it takes four years », he said laughing. Only eight months elapsed between the purchase of the building and the start of the work.

The remodeling of the buildings concerned

Calgary isn’t the only one who thinks empty offices could be a solution to the housing crisis. In Chicago the Lasalle Street Initiative is expected to create 1,000 housing units from a disused portion of its financial district. Currently, no other city in Canada has launched such an ambitious program as Calgary.

Jean-Marc Fournier, President of the Urban Development Institute of Quebec, doesn’t think Alberta’s example will be repeated elsewhere:

“It is impossible to imagine a national conversion policy. And that’s not desirable either. Teleworking has emptied offices, but little by little, the number of remote working days is decreasing. Empty offices will soon be occupied again.

Andrée De Serres, a professor in the Department of Strategy, Social and Environmental Responsibility at the University of Quebec in Montreal, disagrees, but acknowledges that there are many barriers to building transformation. “ Outdated office buildings from the 1960s are approaching the end of their lives. It is gigantic to convert them. But either we demolish or we transform, so which is better ? It requires very strong public volunteering, and not just from the cities, which do not have sufficient resources for this mission. », She explains.

In the longer term, however, she believes the transition will be generous for those cities that dare: “ More living space and fewer offices, which means that inner cities are becoming more diverse, more resilient and also emitting fewer greenhouse gases … Because neighborhood life is developing ! »

In order to encourage private actors to invest more, she points out the need to plan for possible conversions during the construction of the building in the future. “Owners would have more guarantees of the long-term value of the building. »

And in France?

In the Ile-de-France, the area of ​​vacant offices exploded with the pandemic, rising from 2.6 million square meters at the end of 2019 to 4.4 million square meters in mid-2022. The Elan law favors the conversion of offices into housing, but in the The figures currently do not match region.

In a note published in November 2022The Paris Region Institute estimates that the transformation of commercial buildings between 2013 and 2021 (of which 53% are offices) has so far accounted for only 3% of the target of 70,000 housing units per year in Ile-de-France. established by the Grand Paris Law of 2010.

The Institute collects taxes and costs incurred by the communities serving these conversions. “ For a given area, commercial buildings generally generate more tax revenue than residential buildings and put significantly less strain on municipal public services. » The authors conclude that public funding needs to be increased to encourage more conversions.

“ Paris has a lot of older buildings than here and it’s not easy to upgrade the heating and air conditioning there ! This requires more expensive transformations at the beginning and a high public contribution »plenty Nathalie Marchut.

As Calgary waits for Paris to wake up, it’s trying to expand its program to solve another crisis. Office towers could soon also become schools, counteracting the lack of space in schools in the region.