Kuala Lumpur potentially has a good supply of under occupied office blocks located in prime locations. It should be seen as an opportunity to solve several issues facing the city centre without needing to break the bank or create grand new plans. With residential choices at a premium and a dwindling population in the urban core, converting office blocks to residences could kill two birds with one stone. It could give life back to unused buildings and reactivate urban spaces while providing attractive housing in an area deemed unaffordable for a majority of young workers. As land becomes scarcer, the city has to be more efficient with providing accessible housing for this core group of younger citizens who can concentrate both their working and social lives around the city centre.
That being said, it is not as easy as just picking a building and starting the converting process. Thorough preliminary work has to be done in order to confirm the viability of such projects. It could be the case that a number of buildings are not structurally suited for residential function. However, even if an office block is not fit for residential conversion, there are other possibilities that could revive the city centre. Both local and international cases have shown the possibilities of retrofitting old buildings. There are various ways to incentivize conversion projects and benchmarks to measure suitability. This would go a long way to matching Malaysia’s targeted strategy in the latest structural plan of infill development. If done correctly, it could potentially save money, space, and significantly reduce carbon footprint from new constructions and demolitions. Several Western cities have begun to adopt office to housing conversion as a strategy rather than isolated cases, it could be a footstep Kuala Lumpur can follow.
Kuala Lumpur’s city centre has long been a business core but age is catching up with many previously Grade A buildings. As companies move to more state of the art office blocks, a cluster of once fully occupied but slowly decaying supply is made available. Upgrading them for the latest office needs could be done, but it’s not a guarantee of returning clients given the current competitive nature of the market. However, the housing shortage in such a well connected and attractive part of the city opens up a new possibility for these buildings. Demolition and decay are not the only options for hollowing Grade B or C office blocks. While not 100% of them would be suitable for residential purposes, it would be well worth the effort to at least give them a thorough evaluation and potentially a new lease of life that could help rejuvenate a historical and iconic part of Kuala Lumpur. The last thing the urban core needs is a cluster of decaying vacant buildings sitting around until they’re no longer fit for any kinds of usage.