Biden Unveils $250M 'Legacy Challenge' to Turn Empty Offices Into Affordable Homes

A 2024 Follow-Up Aimed Squarely at Empty Offices

On August 13, 2024, the Biden-Harris administration announced a package of new actions to lower housing costs by cutting red tape and accelerating the conversion of empty commercial buildings, especially offices, into affordable homes. The announcement built directly on the October 2023 federal strategy that first aligned HUD, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the White House's Commercial to Residential Federal Resources Guidebook behind adaptive reuse.

Where the 2023 rollout was mostly about signaling and coordination, the August 2024 package put real dollars and specific rule changes behind the effort.

What Was New on August 13, 2024

The key pieces of the follow-up announcement focused on conversions and faster project delivery:

• HUD Section 108 'Legacy Challenge' — up to $250 million in loan financing. HUD launched a Legacy Challenge making up to $250 million in financing available through the Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program specifically for adaptive reuse, commercial-to-residential conversions, rehabilitation of existing housing, and housing-enabling infrastructure. Section 108 lets communities leverage their Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations into larger project loans.
• New DOT guidance for transit-adjacent conversions. The Department of Transportation issued updated guidance clarifying that many commercial-to-residential conversion projects can qualify for a categorical exclusion under federal environmental review, potentially shrinking review timelines from roughly 18 months to under a year. The guidance also clarified that Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans can be used to refinance existing debt during conversions and serve as permanent financing for construction.
• Historic preservation streamlining. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation proposed accelerating preservation reviews, including exempting certain interior repairs and rooftop solar installations from additional review, which can meaningfully lower costs on adaptive reuse projects inside older office buildings.
• Guidebook reinforcement. The administration re-centered the Commercial to Residential Federal Resources Guidebook, which catalogs more than 20 federal programs across six agencies available to support zero-emissions conversions.

Why This Matters for First-Time Homebuyers

First-time buyers do not apply for Section 108 loans directly. These are developer-side tools. But the downstream effects are what show up in your local market:

• More for-sale condos in converted buildings. While many conversions target rentals, some deliver for-sale condos — often in walkable downtown areas where entry-level single-family homes are scarce. For first-time buyers, a converted condo can be a realistic alternative to renting indefinitely.
• Faster project delivery means inventory sooner. Shaving a year off environmental review and preservation review means converted units reach the market sooner, adding supply in tight urban neighborhoods.
• Lower developer costs can translate to lower sale prices. When developers stack HUD Section 108 financing, TIFIA loans, and streamlined reviews, their project cost basis drops. That makes it easier to price a share of units in a conversion as affordable homeownership rather than luxury.
• Federal stacks with state and local first-time buyer help. Units inside federally supported conversions often qualify for layering with state housing finance agency down payment assistance and city-level first-time homebuyer programs, especially where cities offer property tax abatements for conversions.

What to Watch For Locally

If you are a first-time buyer in a metro with high office vacancy — think older downtowns in the Northeast, Midwest, and parts of the West Coast — the August 2024 actions increase the odds that conversions actually get built near you. Practical signals:

• Announcements from your city's community development or housing department about Section 108 Legacy Challenge applications.
• New condo listings explicitly marketed as office-to-residential or adaptive reuse projects.
• Transit-oriented development projects near rail lines and major bus corridors — the DOT guidance specifically targets these.
• Tax abatement programs from your city or state that pair with federal conversion financing to keep end prices reachable.

The Bigger Picture

The October 2023 announcement put the framework on paper. The August 13, 2024 package put money and concrete rule changes behind it — up to $250 million in HUD Section 108 loan capacity, faster environmental review for transit-area conversions, and more flexible TIFIA financing. None of this guarantees a flood of new entry-level homes overnight; conversions remain technically hard and expensive. But if you are a first-time buyer watching a downtown you would actually want to live in, the 2024 follow-up is the step that makes a converted condo on your search list more likely over the next few years, not just a press release.