Only because the US commercial real estate market is having a really bad time.
Watching the Biden admin is wild. At one minute he'll be escalating the wars in the Ukraine and Palestine, but the next he'll be funding the NLRB and addressing the housing crisis in a way that improves walk-ability.
It's like, he has two settings: "actually useful moderate" and "KILLKILLKILLKILL"
Unfortunately, this makes him the best US president since carter
Escalating the war in Ukraine? Please explain how the U.S. has "escalated" the full blown Russian invasion of Ukraine without sounding like a fool.
I don't know who you are personally, and you may not realise it, but you're parroting Russian propaganda. The only one here escalating is Russia when they kept bullying Ukraine and illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. The West have been chastised for letting Putin get away with Crimean annexation, instead of further sanction. Many countries have also thought a charm offensive might satiate Putin, essentially appeasing. But history has shown, appeasement never works because an egomaniac will never be satisfied. Putin thought that he'd get away with it again when he invaded the entirety of Ukraine, but didn't realise it's the red line for the West, and the Ukrainians put up a stiff fight.
How about... let those corporations EAT those fucking buildings and let's put that money to use IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE. First time home buyers. Put some federal controls on real estate; mortgage rates; put the skids on the goddam prime rate - there is NO need for that shit... the economy is suffering from PROFITEERING - NOT inflation.
I realize half or more of our elected officials will have to give back bribe money in order to do something for the people that doesn't doubly do something for their wealthy sponsors.
I know, I know... "just get to earth?"
Sounds hard.
Instead let's convert them to Airbnb units! 🤮
This should also help liven up downtowns that become ghost towns after 5/6pm.
More people living there will support more of the things that keep an area lively.
yeah not a bad idea
This is the best summary I could come up with:
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Joe Biden's administration has come up with a plan it thinks can help address the housing crisis: encouraging developers to turn unwanted office buildings into apartments.
Converting offices to residential properties can be challenging due to the expense of refitting, as well as complying with zoning laws and other regulations.
But the White House initiative will make more than $35 billion available from existing federal programs in the form of grants and low-interest loans to encourage developers to convert offices into residential.
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Following the rise of home working when the pandemic struck and the reluctance of many employees to start commuting again five days a week, business districts have been struggling.
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Last December Silverstein Properties, one of America's largest commercial landlords, announced plans to raise more than $1.5 billion to convert unwanted office space into residential housing in markets ranging from New York to San Francisco.
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Conversions are faster than new construction, 20% cheaper, and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions, the White House added.
The original article contains 364 words, the summary contains 180 words. Saved 51%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
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