Senators Stabenow, Brown, Peters, and Padilla Introduce the Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act

Bill will Create a Tax Credit to Convert Vacant Commercial Buildings into Affordable Housing

Monday, July 15, 2024

WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill to take advantage of the widespread increase in vacant or underutilized commercial properties by converting these properties into affordable housing. The Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act will create a federal tax credit to help convert unused commercial buildings into affordable residential housing. 

“The pandemic reshaped how people work and how they do business. This has left both large and small towns with an unprecedented number of empty buildings,” said Senator Stabenow. “Converting these unused buildings into housing is a win-win – providing people with affordable places to live while helping our communities turn vacancy into vibrancy.”

“Converting vacant or unused spaces is an effective, commonsense way to create jobs, bolster cities and neighborhoods, and support local economic development,” said Senator Peters. “This bill also provides the opportunity to help address the severe affordable housing shortage, an issue I hear about repeatedly from folks across our state. I’m proud to again lead this effort with Senator Stabenow and will continue working to see it advance in the Senate.” 

“No one should struggle to find an affordable, safe place to call home, especially when thousands of unused office buildings have potential for repurposing,” said Senator Padilla. “As companies across the country continue to make hybrid and remote work models permanent, this bill would reinvigorate and stimulate local economies while investing in critically-needed affordable housing infrastructure.”

The COVID-19 crisis sparked a dramatic rise of hybrid and remote work and accelerated the shift from brick-and-mortal retail to e-commerce. These major changes in where Americans work and how they shop have harmed many formerly vibrant commercial districts in communities nationwide.

At the very same time, our nation is experiencing an affordable housing crisis. According to Pew Research, 49 percent of Americans say the lack of reasonably priced housing in their community is a major problem. Nearly half of all American renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. A study by the National Multifamily Housing Council found that the United States needs to build an estimated 4.3 million apartments by 2035 to meet the demand for rental housing.

The Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act would address both issues at once by creating a critical redevelopment tool that makes commercial-to-residential conversion projects more economically viable. 

# # #