The studies suggest that the workforce and affordable housing in the US has been slowly but steadily diminishing even though there are millions of financially strapped families around the country says Maxwell Drever . According to researchers, cities with insufficient affordable housing for their middle-income residents reduced their job growth by almost five percent. It is not the recent phenomenon that speaks of such realities. Such scenarios existed earlier and are relevant even today because workforce population drives country’s economic engine being an integral component of it. When they suffer, communities and the whole nation automatically become weaker.
If this trend continues for some more time, companies may fail to scale up not because they didn’t have enough efficient people, but those candidates couldn’t become a part of the system due to the lack of access to necessities like affordable housing. Societies can feel the pinch in every aspect of daily operations. The impact can far exceed one’s anticipation at societal, political, and economic levels. So, it is the need of the hour and everyone’s responsibility to help them find a comfortable home they can afford within the community they serve and the company they work for hassle-free.
Maxwell Drever says low housing stocks tend to be the common reason in this case. Since acquiring lands and building something from down to up can be time-consuming and cost-sensitive, developers and investors can turn their attention to closed hotels and motels to follow an innovative model to address the need of this specific income group.
Why do hotels and motels make a perfect choice?
Closed hotel businesses are nothing but a burden on the city’s infrastructure. Their bleak future also means they would continue to occupy the actual square footage that could serve so many people differently. For example, think of abandoned hotels, especially those in the low and mid-tier, having two or three-star ratings. How about converting them into much-needed affordable housing?
The benefit of exploring the idea
Many of these properties already have the infrastructure renters want, including security, shared laundry areas, kitchen facilities, and more. With some upgrades at necessary places. It can be relatively quick to rehab them to serve the housing needs of the people. Besides, developers can build different living units to cover a broader range of conditions. The rundown hotels and motels present excellent construction opportunities, from one-bedroom to studio apartments to gated communities. Since specific amenities and features are already in place. One can focus on other significant areas within the site to speed up the process.
Maxwell Drever informs that hotels and housing units often have overlapping zoning standards. As a result, there can be little need for extension or expansion of most areas. And if one has to modify anything to meet the housing codes, they can seek permission from local bodies.
Building hotels into workforce housing can be one of the fastest ways to deliver affordable options. To the target audience against trying to develop something from scratch. Which involves many elements, such as land search, land acquisition, installation of utility services, and sourcing construction materials, etc. Most of these factors become irrelevant or easy to manage when someone uses the existing property and rehabilitates them.