At Hearing, Senator Warren Highlights Successful Projects in Massachusetts to Expand Housing Stock, Reiterates Need for Federal Investment to Address Nationwide Housing Shortage
Warren: “(T)here’s no getting around the need for a major federal investment if we want to close the housing gap. But we can also help move the needle with more targeted federal investments that support and expand communities’ efforts to boost their housing stock and to ensure that everyone… has access to a safe, accessible, and affordable place to live.”
Washington, D.C. — At a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) made the case for increased federal investments in programs to address housing shortages and affordability. Senator Warren highlighted projects across Massachusetts that have expanded housing supply by transforming commercial buildings and other non-residential properties for residential use. Dr. Jenny Schuetz, an expert in urban economics and housing policy, also confirmed the success of these efforts in providing additional housing opportunities, especially for older and disabled adults. Senator Warren also highlighted the use of accessory dwelling units as yet another way for communities to get the most out of their existing housing construction.
Transcript: Laying the Foundation: Housing Accessibility and Affordability for Older Adults and People with Disabilities
U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging
Thursday, July 20, 2023
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman and thank you very much for holding this hearing today. Such an important topic.
The housing shortage is a national emergency that lies at the root of what makes buying or renting a home – the single-largest line item in most families’ budgets – so wildly unaffordable to too many Americans today.
We know how to solve the problem: we need to build more housing. And not just more housing, but more of every kind of housing: housing for seniors, housing for people with disabilities, housing for veterans, housing for families with children, housing for single people, housing for first-time buyers, and on and on.
That will undoubtedly require new housing development and construction – and I believe we need serious federal dollars to help make this happen. But there are also things we can do to make the most of the construction that we already have.
For example, towns all across this country are taking a look at their unused non-residential properties – like office space or long-abandoned public buildings – to see if those spaces could better be used to serve their communities as housing.
Dr. Schuetz, you have extensive experience studying the housing market. Now, property conversions may not work everywhere all the time, but are we seeing communities successfully using housing conversions to create accessible and affordable housing for some groups. Are you seeing this as a way to produce more housing for older Americans, for people with disabilities, and for other groups?
Jenny Schuetz, PhD, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution Metro: Absolutely. Conversion of non-residential to housing can add substantial amounts of housing. If we look at cities like Los Angeles, for instance, the downtown converted a lot of empty office buildings and they work really well for accessible units because they're already tall buildings equipped with elevators, so they can work really well in some contexts.
Senator Warren: I want to say, we're doing some of this in Massachusetts right now. Over the last few years, we’ve seen creative projects to convert existing, non-residential construction to homes for older Americans and for the broader population:
- In New Bedford, a 114-year-old textile mill is being converted into apartments for lower- and middle-income adults aged 55 and older;
- In Salem, two century-old Catholic schools are being converted to a mixed-income apartments for seniors and artists;
- And earlier this month, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced a bold pilot program to immediately create residential housing out of unused office space – and there’s a lot of it, with about one in five of every commercial office building in downtown Boston currently vacant.
Federal investment in converting formerly non-residential properties into housing could help more communities expand their housing supply in a way that fits the needs of target populations, like older adults who need accessible and centrally-located homes.
Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, are another tool that communities can use to get the most out of their existing construction. These units tend to be on the smaller side, something that homeowners can build on their own property and then use it as rental housing. Think of a mother-in-law unit in the back of the lot, or maybe an efficiency apartment over a garage.
Dr. Schuetz, could you say a word on how accessory dwelling units help address the housing shortage, especially among older adults?
Dr. Schuetz: Accessory dwelling units can fit in a couple of ways. They can provide a space on the property for a caretaker to live or they can provide a space for adult children to move in. I would point to both California and Utah as states that have done a lot to push making accessory dwelling units easier to build at the state level.
Senator Warren: Ms. Cannington, would you like to add to that? You seem engaged in this conversation.
Allie Cannington, Senior Manager of Advocacy and Organizing, The Kelsey: Thank you so much, Senator. I just want to add the importance of both a carrots and sticks approach to the affordable, accessible, and inclusive housing crisis that we have. It is, you know, it is essential that we have accessibility requirements that accurately reflect the needs of the growing disabled and older adult population, but the bottom line is without incentives, the developer field will only continue to see access as a compliance issue, but what we know is that access is an opportunity for everyone to thrive at levels that we have really never been able to fully realize in this country.
Senator Warren: I think that's a really powerful point here. You know, this is something where my view on this is more is more. We need more. In the last few years, several towns on Cape Cod have agreed to reform their zoning laws to allow for the creation of ADUs to boost the supply of year-round housing for residents. Local advocacy groups stepped up to provide modest financial incentives and practical assistance to homeowners to help them get ADUs in place.
I get it. ADUs and conversions may not work everywhere. Every community’s housing stock is different and particular needs are different. And there’s no getting around the need for a major federal investment if we want to close the housing gap.
But we can also help move the needle with more targeted federal investments that support and expand communities’ efforts to boost their housing stock and to ensure that everyone – and I want to underline everyone – has access to a safe, accessible, and affordable place to live.
Again, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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