Adaptive reuse

um but you know if you think about cap rates for uh industrial sort of in the sixes generally speaking um you know data center cap rates are more competitive they're generally speaking lower which is good for data centers but of course there's always a bit of a niggle in terms of where the 10-year treasury yield stands you know we've seen it really pushing up um more recently you know beyond four four and a half percent to 4.6 4.7 and so you know there's always the consideration of uh the shrinking risk premium um you know certainly i'm a big fan of all cre i think i've said this before on the show um but cre as wonderful as it is it is not you know a risk-free asset And so, you know, there's always that consideration when you start to get a risk premium that is shrinking where the cap rate is so close to the risk-free rate it doesn't really allow for a lot of wiggle room.

Let's talk about adaptive reuse.

I know some folks have done some conversions, right, of office properties or retail properties?

There's been conversions, a few examples of conversions of physical office buildings to data centers.

Looking at this building today, I've been thinking a lot about a path forward for the discipline and where we can go.

And I was pretty fascinated that this is an adaptive reuse project for lack of a better word.

And I know it may not be read like this with everybody, but I find it kind of incredibly integrated and it does feel like a whole to me in comparison to projects like Chipperfield's Neue Museum in Berlin and renovations like DSR's MoMA, which Liz describes that project as something that is incredibly surgical, whereas when it was renovated, I was having a hard time understanding what was new and what was old.

I feel like I can tell there's a kind of existing modernist building and then there's all the stuff put on it.

through computational design, and it kind of failed at it.

But that failure is beautiful to me.

Does it matter to you the intent of the author or authors may be different? Because you're describing it kind of as it is in the world, as an adaptive reuse, how it is physically, but it's not with the theoretical discourse around it.

Yeah, I don't know if it matters.

But I do want to take a second to specifically speak to the old traffic-controlled building in Pinckney.

Why not explore turning that building into a neighborhood community center? And if that isn't financially or practically feasible, why not seriously investigate adaptive reuse for housing, lofts, studios, or a mixed civic and residential use? The city's own land development code tells us that adaptive reuse exists precisely for this purpose, to extend the life of existing buildings, reduce construction waste, and expand opportunities for housing.

It even allows existing structures to remain conforming with respects to things like setbacks, height, and parking, and adaptive reuse environment.

I'm asking us to think beyond the binary choice of demolish this building or don't build housing.

There's a third option, build housing while preserving the building.

So let's preserve the building, explore a community center.

I have so many neighbors that I'm sort of representing that are interested in this building.

Explore adaptive reuse.

Okay.

Historic preservation or adaptive reuse?

Adaptive reuse.

Okay.

Taliesin West or Arcosanti? Taliesin West.

All right, today on the On Center podcast, we're joined by Winifred Williams, partner at KRM Architecture, whose career has been dedicated to designing educational environments that do far more than just house classrooms.

From breathing new life into existing schools, to adaptive reuse, to creating spaces that strengthen entire communities.

Winifred's work demonstrates how thoughtful architecture can shape the way students learn, connect, and grow for generations.

We'll talk about the evolution of educational design, balancing creativity with leadership, and what it takes to build schools that remain relevant long after the ribbon cutting.

I think it's a perfect example.

Some architects dream of designing brand new buildings, yet many of your most compelling projects involve giving existing structures an entirely new life.

adaptive reuse requires respecting the past while preparing for the future.

What is it about transforming older buildings that continues to inspire you? And what lessons do existing buildings teach that newer construction never could?

Again, hyperlocal

Victor, do you guys look at adaptive reuse or mixed-use de- developments?

Not a ton of adaptive reuse.

We've looked at it.

Uh, we've looked at some, uh, office to apartment conversions.

That's no longer the case.

I've been a part of transactions where there's adaptive reuse conversions.

Oftentimes could be a case for some of the hotels that you're pointing out may have run its course, whether it's student housing, whether it's behavioral health.

You quoted a statistic.