Q1 2026 Chapter Business Meeting and Program: Office to Multifamily Conversions

Office to Multifamily Conversions

A Joint Event with the Counselors of Real Estate and the Massachusetts Rhode Island & Maine Chapter of the Appraisal Institute

When: Thursday, January 29, 2026

Where:  Montgomery Room @ the Federal Reserve Boston, 600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA

• Schedule of Events:
• 11:15 am – 12:15 pm / Luncheon Served  / Q1 2025 Chapter Business Meeting
• 12:15 pm – 2:15 pm / Two Hour CE Program

There is currently a surplus of vacant office space in downtown Boston due in large part to the work from home trend. There has also been a flight to quality in the office sector as many buildings haven’t kept pace with modern space use and trends. At the same time, Boston faces a housing shortage with a supply-vs.-demand imbalance. As building owners and potential investors explore what to do with these high vacancy assets, many are considering converting these office buildings into multifamily uses. However, office-to-multifamily conversion can be a complex and costly process involving many considerations including building infrastructure, the entitlement process, and financial feasibility. The program will start with a current overview of the downtown Boston office market followed by an explanation of the City of Boston expedited conversion entitlement process that has become a model for the nation. There will then be an overview of the City of Boston’s real estate tax incentive program enhancing the financial feasibility of these conversions followed by a developer’s presentation discussing two conversion projects currently underway in downtown Boston.

The educational offering will consist of 4 presentations:

• James Cameron, Senior Managing Director, Newmark, Boston, MA
• John Weil, Head of Office-to-Residential Conversions for the City of Boston
• Nicholas Ariniello, City of Boston Commissioner of Assessing
• Patrick Mahoney, CEO of Edge Properties

Continuing Education Credit: This program is approved by the Appraisal Institute for 2 hours.  Applications will be submitted to the states of  MA, ME RI and NH.   If you need Connecticut CT credit, reach out to the Chapter office for assistance.

Learn more about being a program sponsor here.

Thank you to the companies below for their generous sponsorship of this program

Learn about being a Chapter program here.