Communities need affordable workforce housing desperately, but the cost of new construction is just too high says Maxwell Drever. For this reason, innovative developers like legendary impact investor Maxwell Drever are looking to hotels that closed during the pandemic as an opportunity that will go a long way toward solving the affordable workforce housing supply crisis.
The developers of these properties see a profit for themselves and their investors. Those in need of affordable housing see hundreds of future tenants who will one day live in clean and modern apartments that were once old hotel rooms. In the lobbies of these hotels, they see a common space where tenants and their friends will mingle. And in the pool areas, they know the equivalent of luxury living.
With the right hotel that possesses the necessary amenities, all this is possible.
Hotels are the perfect real estate for workforce housing.
It turns out that hotels and apartment buildings have a lot in common. Hotel rooms are studio apartments without kitchens after all, and at least in this one instance, COVID-19 would take a lemon, turn it into lemonade” and serve as a source of significant source for desperately needed affordable workforce housing space.
The availability of affordable workforce housing is a massive issue around the country, says Maxwell, and currently, there is just one method to address it adequately. Beyond providing inexpensive housing, experts believe that the hotel to affordable workforce housing platform will give the lower end of the hospitality sector a second chance of sorts.
How hotel conversions save construction costs
The architecture and the infrastructure of a building can have an impact on its feasibility for reuse says Maxwell Drever. A building with amenities such as a pool, public areas, commercial space. And a restaurant would be of more value to a developer seeking a property already equipped with those amenities. The same is true of the type of hotel that is a match for an affordable workforce housing conversion. Having extended-stay hotels equipped with kitchens and bathrooms makes them excellent candidates for transformation into apartments.
There is no requirement for in-unit kitchens in assisted living homes. Still, buildings must be completely compliant with ADA regulations, and elevators must be large enough to handle a gurney. In addition to restructuring a building’s design and programming, its structural, electrical. And plumbing infrastructure needs to be modified to accommodate its newfound use, increasing the conversion project cost.
Conclusion
Realizing that something worthless is worth something is a thrilling discovery. And when this discovery is commercially viable, interest invariably swirls around it. This is occurring now in the emerging hotel to affordable workforce housing space.