2024 Theses Master's

The Future Involves the Past: Adaptive Reuse for Offices in Chelsea As a Strategy For Urban Revitalization

Cronson, Andrew

Urban planners face a range of challenges, including aging underutilized structures, that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through innovative strategies and incentives, such as zoning reforms, loosening planning regulations, and public-private partnerships, the practice of urban planning can facilitate new uses for obsolete structures and promote access to amenities, green space, and community well-being.

This capstone project explores the praxis of adaptive reuse through a comparative analysis of five case studies about the expansion of office space in Chelsea. It investigates the history, policy, and design of adaptive reuse of old, significant, and interesting structures for offices. It analyzes the cases to understand the factors that contribute to a successful office reuse project and to the revitalization of Chelsea into a thriving neighborhood. Five cases investigate the relationship between adaptive reuse and office spaces to develop an understanding of their mutual potentials. The study examines how adaptive reuse plays a role in establishing the character of the individual site and the neighborhood, affecting the local community economically, culturally, and socially. I synthesize the cases on office redevelopment projects in Chelsea to extract insights and lessons for adaptive reuse and urban planning. The community organization, Save Chelsea, served as the client. A pamphlet was developed for the client’s use as an educational tool, including for walking tours and networking events that focus on adaptive reuse for office space in Chelsea.