Austin office occupancy rates (Houston, Dallas: apartments, leasing, zoning)

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Ice_Major

Traffic is noticeably lighter Mondays and Fridays in my neck of the woods. I assume the hybrid workers are choosing those days to work from home.

There is talk of converting the unused office space in New York and San Francisco to housing as a way to address affordability issues. I wonder if Austin city leaders are thinking the same.

Personally this is what I think needs to be done with office space where possible.

[Need4Camaro]

Take a look at the next Austin...

https://fortune.com/2023/01/18/tulsa...uccessful/amp/

[ipott]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Take a look at the next Austin...

https://fortune.com/2023/01/18/tulsa...uccessful/amp/

But Oklahoma though? https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/st...ly/ar-AA168CHa

[Trainwreck20]

I interviewed for a job in Tulsa many years (decades) ago. It is a kind of neat city. But damn it gets cold in the winter!

[JD_MD]

I spent time in Tulsa many years ago, Fall through Winter, and I can see the appeal. I've been spending some time in Austin recently and can see someone from Austin assimilating well there. It has lots of amenities but with a small town feel, people were friendly and seemed to really like living there. It was easy getting to know people. While it can get cold and windy and with snow in the Winter, on the same day it would suddenly turn warm and sunny. Good for Tulsa offering incentives and being a place that people want to remain in afterwards.

[ashbeeigh]

All I know about Tulsa is that it is heavily featured on the first 48 and Hanson is from there.

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by Ice_Major

There is talk of converting the unused office space in New York and San Francisco to housing as a way to address affordability issues. I wonder if Austin city leaders are thinking the same.

Not unless they find a way to skim millions out of the deals for themselves.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Personally this is what I think needs to be done with office space where possible.

I don't think Austin has nearly as much legacy office space as those two cities; I mean pre-1995 buildings. Those are the ones creating the angst and the conversion talk in other cities, Dallas (which has been a leader in conversions, in its downtown) and Houston included.

That said, despite the recent tampering down of the for-sale market in Austin relative to a year or two ago, there's still a housing shortage, and it doesn't hurt to look at conversion possibilities for the legacy inventory that does exist. Just don't assume that it's necessarily viable for more than a (potentially small) subset of them.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

All I know about Tulsa is that it is heavily featured on the first 48 and Hanson is from there.

It's a nicer place than you might assume, though its downtown did get deservedly named "worst parking crater in the U.S." (there's still parts of downtown that are cool, though). It has some nice urban neighborhoods and a fair bit of topography in some areas. It's also close to the Ozarks and many nice outdoor places in eastern OK.

Regarding music, Tulsa has an astounding musical legacy (and present), one that really stands out at a national level. Leon Russell, J.J. Cale, David Gates, the G.A.P. Band, others. Cain's Ballroom is where Bob Wills found fame. These days, major independent / Red Dirt artists like Turnpike Troubadours hail from that area. The Rocklahoma outdoor music venue is in Pryor, about 45 min to the northeast.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I interviewed for a job in Tulsa many years (decades) ago. It is a kind of neat city. But damn it gets cold in the winter!

The worst are the ice storms.