Innovative Solutions to Building Conversions

BKV Group works with developers, building owners, and preservation specialists to successfully convert prior use and historic properties into dynamic mixed-use communities buzzing with life — and stories.

Across 80+ Properties

40+ Successful Conversions


We are a national leader in taking something old and making it bold:

 

 

  • Location
  • Age of Building
  • Building Code
  • Zoning
  • Reputation & Historical Significance (Architectural, Cultural, Neighborhood Contribution, Other)

 

  • Degree of Distress (In distress, foreclosure, high vacancy)
  • Acquisition Cost/Land Value
  • Low-rent occupancy
  • Eligibility for Historic or Conversion Tax Credits
  • Eligibility for City TIF, County Bonds, LIHTC, other incentives
  • Owner Desire to reposition property

  • Floor Plate Shape, Width, Depth
  • Floor-to-Floor Heights
  • Size/Square Footage
  • Column Bay Spacing
  • Orientation
  • Optionality/Flexibility (ability to accommodate Light Well or Atrium)
  • Rooftop Access
  • Structural, Mechanical, Electrical Systems
  • Vertical Shafts & Elevator Core Locations –  Vertical Shaft opportunities, Elevators servicing all floors, freight elevator
  • IT infrastructure
  • Parking opportunity or ability – based on column spacing
  • Windowing Condition and Analysis for Ventilation & Daylighting
  • Circulation/ADA/Code
  • Stair counts and accessibility
  • Exterior Façade/Skin/Roof/Openings
  • Masonry Condition
  • Window conditions
  • Curtain Wall conditions
  • Historic fabric – Canopies, Ghost Murals, Loading docks, Rail corridors, Cornices, etc.

  • Potential for growth
  • Lifestyle accomodations
  • Safety
  • Education
  • Transit
  • Skyway Network
  • Available Parking
  • Parks & Trails
  • Coworking Hub
  • Community Vibrancy

 

1. Inheritance

  • Pre-Development Services
  • Site Condition
  • Evaluations & Fit Plans
  • Historic Constraints
  • SHPO/National Park Service Requirements
  • Visioning & Discovery

 

2. Investigation

  • Building Forensics
  • Building Scanning and Documenting
  • Code Assessment
  • Historic Research
  • Site and Building Evaluations
  • Photographic Analysis

 

3. Incentives

  • Tax Credits
  • TIF Financing
  • Conversion Credits
  • Grants

 

4. Intent

  • Community Goal-Building
  • Visioning Process & Brand Formation
  • Design Parti Development
  • Documentation Details
  • Sustainability Initiatives
  • Revitalization
  • Building Technology & Systems
  • Efficiency in Planning
  • Wayfinding

 

5. Implementation

  • Demo Discovery
  • Unforeseen Conditions
  • Problem-Solving
  • Means and Methods Collaboration
  • Design Adaptation
  • Structural Repairs
  • Historic Amendments
  • Client & User Testimonials

 

Jack Boarman

Senior Design Leader, Managing Partner
Washington, DC

Mike Krych

Senior Design Leader, Managing Partner
Minneapolis, MN

Joe Brown

Senior Project Architect, Associate Partner
Minneapolis, MN

Kelly Naylor

Vice President of Interior Design, Partner
Minneapolis, MN

Jack Boarman and Mike Krych Speak with BuildingGreen on Office-to-Housing Conversions

Across the country, BKV has designed many office-to-housing conversations, with repurposing historic buildings being a key part of our portfolio. Senior Partners Jack Boarman and Michael Krych weighed in on this emerging project type with BuildingGreen® using conversions like Octave 1320 and Cotton Annex to detail how you can create an end product that can become “a catalyst to anchor and spur continued development” – in addition to being “especially attractive to prospective tenants because of the unique character of each project.”

Kelly Naylor Explains the Adaptive Reuse Process, and Pitfalls, with Office-to-Apartment Conversions

In the Multi-Housing News, Vice President of Interior Design and Senior Partner, Kelly Naylor, outlines the things you should know before embarking on a project of this kind, and how the forensic phase of adaptive reuse is so important to the success of a project and avoiding the ‘gotchas’ that might otherwise might derail a project.

Mike Krych Interview with NAA on Office-to-Housing Conversions

BKV’s Senior Design Leader and Managing Partner, Michael Krych, shared his insights with the National Apartment Association (NAA), about specific conversion projects that “offer huge rewards” and “deliver one-of-a-kind buildings rather than cookie-cutter residences and amenity spaces.”