SACRAMENTO, Calif — With remote work becoming a more common option for employees after the pandemic, many cities are seeing abandoned office buildings and Sacramento is no stranger to that.
Now, a California lawmaker is hoping to put those buildings back into use to try and solve the housing crisis.
"We need to find ways to make sure those are used and used productively," said Asm. Matt Haney (D-San Francisco).
So, Asm. Haney introduced AB 3068.
"What this bill will do is it will give the buyer right approval, so that you get rid of all of this red tape, all of these bureaucratic hurdles. If you want to convert this office space into housing, you can do it and we're not going to allow all of these different roadblocks to be in your way," he said.
Last August, lawmakers and state officials announced the EDD building on Capitol Mall would be converted into affordable housing units. The state also identified the solar building on N Street.
Haney says the pandemic played a major role in many state, as well as private buildings, staying vacant.
"People used to go into the office every day. Now, they're working entirely from home or partially from home; that's going to continue to be the case," said Haney.
With the housing crisis continuing in major cities, Haney's bill also applies to privately-owned buildings. In Sacramento, many buildings are considered historic and it's why the California Preservation Foundation says there needs to be protections in place.
"We're trying to protect the the integrity of the building, make sure that its character features are preserved. Most of those are on the exterior of the building, though there are some on the interior," said Cindy Heitzman, executive director of California Preservation Foundation.
Although the bill still needs to make its way through the legislature before it becomes law, Haney says he hopes it can encourage private property owners to take advantage of the opportunity.
"We're also going to give some incentives from property tax dollars to make this possible," he said.
A spokesperson with the Department of General Services (DSG) says work on the EDD building won't start until late 2025 and they're still working to fully vacate the property.
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