This bill creates a new tax credit to encourage converting old office buildings into homes. Here's how it works: if a company converts an office building that's been around for at least 15 years into residential apartments or mixed-use spaces (apartments with some retail), they can claim a tax credit worth 15% of their conversion costs. The credit is capped at $200,000 per apartment unit and $10 million per building, which means the tax break gets smaller as you build more units, encouraging developers to spread projects across multiple buildings.

The bill sweetens the deal for affordable housing. If at least 25% of the new apartments are rented at below-market rates to people earning less than the area's median income, the tax credit increases by 10-20% depending on how affordable the units are. There's also a 15% bonus if workers on the conversion project are paid prevailing wages (the standard rate for construction work in that area). The government will also set up an advisory board with $5 million per year (through 2029) to help cities and states figure out which buildings are good candidates for conversion and to remove local zoning rules that might block these projects.

Essentially, this bill tries to solve two problems at once: it gives property owners financial incentives to convert vacant or underused office buildings (which became less valuable after the pandemic) into housing, while also pushing developers to include affordable units in their projects. The advisory board helps local governments identify opportunities and cut through red tape so conversions can happen faster.