New Law Mandates Conversion of Office and Commercial Buildings to Multifamily Housing

Sky Schaudt/KJZZ
Governor Katie Hobbs recently signed HB2297 into law, mandating certain cities and towns allocate up to 10% of their office, commercial, and mixed-use buildings for conversion into multifamily housing. Reid Butler, former chair of the Arizona Multihousing Association, views this legislation as a potential solution to the state’s housing crisis. While he recognizes the suitability of hospitals, hotels, nursing homes, and schools for such conversions, HB2297 primarily focuses on retail and office buildings in Arizona’s metropolitan regions. He emphasizes that “the additional impact of having more housing near everything else, it can make a lot of other things work.”