Never let a good housing crisis go to waste. It may be a cliché, but this should be the federal government’s mantra as it begins to move forward with the significant disposal effort to reduce its office footprint in Ottawa. After all, the conversion of the federal government’s unwanted properties to residential units could produce 50,000 homes—the equivalent of 100 large condo towers—and have a sizable impact on Canada’s housing crisis.
Through conversion, owners are able to transform their formerly unattractive office building into in-demand residential units, private developers will benefit by purchasing a building with Class A potential at Class C costs, and the federal government can seize a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide Canadians with an increase of affordable housing. The results of office-to-residential conversion are proven.