Repositioning Philadelphia: Adaptive Reuse and Conversions Summit

Why Attend Philadelphia Repositioning, Adaptive Reuse and Conversions Summit

Why This Matters: Philadelphia’s commercial real estate market is undergoing a transformation. With rising office vacancies, aging industrial properties, and shifting tenant demands, developers and investors are rethinking how to repurpose underutilized assets. Whether it’s office-to-residential conversions, industrial-to-life sciences transformations, or mixed-use redevelopments, adaptive reuse is becoming a critical strategy to unlock value in the city’s built environment. Adaptive reuse offers a way forward, but it comes with challenges. From zoning hurdles and financing complexities to construction constraints and tenant demand, navigating these projects requires strategic vision and expertise. Hear from leading developers, investors, and owners who are at the forefront of repositioning Philadelphia’s real estate assets and dive into successful conversion projects, financing strategies, regulatory challenges, and the future of adaptive reuse in the city.

What You Will Learn:

• Philadelphia’s Repositioning Landscape – Why millions of square feet of office space in Center City remains vacant, and how adaptive reuse is emerging as a key strategy to revitalize underutilized properties.
• The Future of Office-to-Residential Conversions – How developers are overcoming zoning, structural, and financial hurdles to successfully transform outdated office buildings into multifamily, mixed-use, and hospitality assets.
• Industrial-to-Life Sciences and Innovation Conversions – Why the Navy Yard, University City, and South Philadelphia are leading the city’s industrial-to-lab conversion boom, and how developers are making these projects financially feasible.
• Historic Building Reuse and Tax Incentives – How developers are leveraging Philadelphia’s historic tax credit program, 10-year tax abatement, and Keystone Opportunity Zones to finance large-scale repositioning projects.
• Financing and Capital Markets for Adaptive Reuse – How high interest rates and tighter lending conditions are impacting conversion projects, and which funding strategies and equity partners are making deals happen.
• Zoning, Policy and Regulatory Challenges – What Philadelphia’s zoning laws, building codes, and land-use policies mean for adaptive reuse projects, and how developers are working with city officials to streamline approvals.
• Construction and Infrastructure Challenges – How developers are handling outdated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems, code compliance issues, and structural constraints in older buildings.
• Mixed-Use and Transit-Oriented Redevelopment – Where Philadelphia’s next major mixed-use hubs will emerge as transit-oriented development fuels demand for walkable, live-work-play communities.
• The Long-Term Vision for Philadelphia’s Built Environment – What’s next for Philadelphia’s skyline, urban districts, and industrial corridors, and how repositioning will shape the city’s real estate market over the next decade.
   

Who Attends This Event: Odin Properties, Frontier Development, Shift Capital, PMC Property Group, MM Partners, Breakthrough Properties, Colliers Engineering & Design, Lubert Adler, Strada Architecture, 9th Street Development Company, August Mack Environmental, Inc., Thornton Tomasetti, Gensler, Clemens Construction, and more!

For questions regarding content, speaking and sponsorship opportunities please email our Senior Event Producer, Virginia Baker, at virginia.baker@bisnow.com. To request disability-related accommodations, please contact ally.araco@bisnow.com no later than seven business days prior to the event.

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