Part of $4M in HUD grants will study conversion of office space to residential housing

Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The federal government said Friday it is taking steps to enhance and increase affordable housing by studying the conversion of office space to residential housing.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it has awarded a total of $4 million in grants to 11 grantees for them to carry out a multitude of tasks designed to ultimately "help communities meet their housing needs."

HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said it is becoming more clear that "our nation's housing stock does not meet the needs of our growing country."

A December 2023 report by HUD said that homelessness had jumped by 12% to more than 650,000 that year, also an increase from the 2.7% bump in homelessness experienced from 2018-2019.

The Biden administration has taken several steps over the last few years to address the growing need for affordable housing nationwide.

Fudge -- a former Ohio Congresswoman -- said in a statement that there is a need to "think creatively," and that Friday's announcement by HUD "will spur the innovation needed to build more affordable, safe, and sustainable housing in our communities."

According to Friday's announcement, the Office to Residential Conversions Notice of Funding Opportunity awarded more than $858,000 to study recent efforts to convert downtown office buildings to properties with residential units since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the 11 grantees: the National Institute of Building Sciences, $499,878; Purdue University in Indiana, $263,847; Louisiana State University, $263,650.42; the Manufactured Housing Institute, $263,544.87; Washington State University, $226,756.05; ADL Ventures, $219,143; Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, $196,722.42; and M. Arthur Gensler Jr. and Associates Inc., $858,261.91.

Also among the grantees are the University of California campuses in Los Angeles -- which got $458,340 -- and Irvine, which was awarded $343,244 by HUD in a state which has in recent years taken what are labeled as "controversial" steps to address California's significant homeless population.