Is Mountain View ready for Oliver Bollman? Is Mountain View ready for Oliver Bollman? (October 21, 2005)

Local architect wants to convert commercial buildings to enviro-lofts -- but his ideas are slow to catch on

By Mari Sapina-Kerkhove

When Oliver Bollman moved to Mountain View six years ago, he had to swallow the bitter pill that welcomes every newcomer to the Bay Area: horrendous housing costs.

Then in his mid-20s, the Ottawa native had just started a job at Mountain View's CAS Architects. And he quickly realized that his chances of owning a home here were miniscule.

Resigned to renting, Bollman watched as housing costs spiraled out of control, the dot-com bubble burst, and previously brimming office buildings were abandoned. And that's when it hit him: Why not live in those vacant buildings?

More specifically, why not divide their ample space into multiple loft units and provide some of the high-density housing the Bay Area obviously needed?

What is known in architecture as adaptive reuse -- the concept of converting existing buildings for purposes other than their original intended use -- is not new, Bollman says. Particularly in metropolitan areas across the United States and Europe, there are many examples of commercial buildings that have been transformed into living spaces.

Making this concept increasingly attractive in recent years, Bollman says, is the increased awareness about environmentally sound building practices. Bollman himself has been fascinated with "green" building and design since architecture school.

"The idea of not knocking everything down and hauling it to the dump really speaks to me," he says. "If you can reuse, it's better than recycling."

As for the Bay Area, Bollman says adaptive reuse projects have been popular in San Francisco. And Emeryville, where numerous industrial buildings have been transformed into lofts, is currently "loft central," he says.

But the idea hasn't quite caught on in Mountain View yet.
'The cost goes down'

Al Savay, zoning administrator for the city of Mountain View, says that while the transformation of industrial to residential buildings could be done here, he hasn't dealt with such requests in years.

Most developers, he says, ask for permission to tear down industrial buildings and replace them with new residential projects from the ground up. Introducing adaptive reuse projects to Mountain View and its surrounding cities would be a smarter way of solving a number of area-specific problems, he says, rather than relying on new housing developments.

Transforming an existing building into lofts is significantly cheaper than constructing housing developments from scratch, Bollman says.

"Because the building is already there, the cost goes down," he says. "A lot of the costs of a house are exterior walls."

This makes adaptive reuse living arrangements more affordable to the consumer, Bollman says. While the median single-family home price in the Bay Area has now hit the $700,000-range, he's convinced that a 1,500- to 2,000-square-foot loft from a once-industrial building would sell for about $450,000.

Finally, with most new housing developments being built in sprawling suburbs, transforming existing buildings close to city centers into housing would allow people to live closer to where they work -- an idea increasingly popular with urban planners and environmentalists alike.

"I think it's a fantastic idea," says Wendy Lo, an environmentalist and friend of Bollman's. "I think Oliver's project tackles a bunch of different eco-friendly needs at the same time."

The Sunnyvale resident says the idea of adaptive reuse is right on target with the concept of "smart urban growth," which favors using resources close to where people live over urban sprawl.

Reduced commuting times, she says, are not only beneficial to the environment but also increase quality of life, allowing people to spend more time with their families and in their communities.

But the benefits of loft living also prevail on a creative level, Bollman believes. "A simpler space doesn't mean less beautiful," he says. "Sometimes the best designs come out of constraints that are already there."

The wide open space, high ceilings and large columns characteristic of most industrial buildings allow for great design flexibility, he says, even if it's just having more space to arrange furniture in different ways.

Most of the obstacles to such projects are technical, including specific city zoning regulations, which can make or break the approval of an adaptive reuse project.

According to Savay, the city council of Mountain View not too long ago passed a list of guidelines which regulate the inclusion of residential living units to industrial zones.

While those guidelines were originally intended for developers planning to replace commercial buildings with residential units, Savay says the same guidelines could apply for someone interested in an adaptive reuse project.

Still, the approval of such a project, he says, is dependent on numerous factors such as the type and condition of commercial building to be transformed, its site and the complexity of the project.
Lofty Heights

Gradually, Bollman has been turning his vision of adaptive reuse projects in the South Bay to action.

As a first step, he launched his Web site, www.loftyheights.org, in June, which serves as a meeting place for architects, developers, investors, city officials and anyone else interested in adaptive reuse and green building practices. It's a one-stop shop to get people thinking, he says as well as to help them network, find resources and information.

Bollman has also opened up dialogue, he says, with various city planning officials from San Jose to Menlo Park. And he's started scouting out buildings for possible projects, preferably in Mountain View.

For example, the Evelyn Avenue corridor, which heads past the train station away from Castro, could be a good zone for adaptive reuse projects if suitable buildings are available.

Bollman also has a few vacant buildings in mind that are up for sale along Terra Bella, east of Shoreline Boulevard. But the area, which is bordered to the north by Highway 101 and to the south by a residential neighborhood, would have to be closely studied for zoning regulations.

By the end of this month, Bollman says, he wants to nail down a building and submit his selection to the city. Once approved, he's hoping to find an investor and to launch into the hands-on work he has dreamt of doing for years.

"What I'm really committed to is creating a harmony between the built and natural environment," he says, reeling off "green" mental pictures of a grass roof, permeable paving and skylights that would allow for naturally lit, airy lofts.

The end result, he says, will be a former commercial building transformed into environmentally friendly, affordable housing units for Bay Area residents -- and, since he's planning to move into one of those units himself, a place to call home.

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