“The average US home price is $206,000 with a typical monthly mortgage payment of $1,583,” says Maxwell Drever. Building community and a sense of permanence takes time but works best when seen as an investment in your family. Drever is known for implying his great idea of transforming hotels into affordable workplace homes for people who cannot live in their own house due to financial constraints. Employers need to keep specific considerations in mind when considering the conversion of hotels into affordable workplace homes. Some of the crucial facts that need consideration are detailed here.
- Present Condition Of The Premises
The first thing that Maxwell Drever considers when deciding whether the conversion of hotels into affordable workplace homes is the present condition of the premises is possible or not. This is because; a disaster can be too expensive to repair. Therefore, the conversion of hotels into affordable workplace homes is done only when the cost involved in repairing is not more than it will be cheaper to repair rather than renovate. Besides that, if there are any problems with a property’s foundation or structure, they should be taken care of before proceeding with conversion.
- Location
According to Maxwell Drever, this includes proximity to markets, restaurants, convenience stores and other places for workers to provide easy dining out and shopping at reasonable prices. Parking is also an issue that many employers face when converting hotels into affordable workplace homes. It is critical to ensure that there is sufficient parking space not to affect the efficiency of workers. Convenience store type stores and mini-super markets should also be present in such places for workers to have access to them for emergencies.
- Communicable Amenities
The conversion of hotels into affordable workplace homes usually involves including other types of amenities such as parks, community kitchens, daycare centres and other communal spaces designed for employees. A healthy workplace comes with all the basic requirements of a society. Nobody wants to live in a neighbourhood without parks or local grocery stores.
- Overall Budget Cost
The overall budget cost is another critical consideration. This is because; if it has been estimated that there will be an increase in the overall budget cost then, the conversion of hotels into affordable workplace homes may not be a project worth taking. Some areas have restrictions on home occupation businesses, and hence, the persons involved should check whether they have permits to run such a business before proceeding to do so. Spending more on buying or registering may lead to overall more outstanding prices of the rooms, which is contradictory with our primary goal, I.e., Affordable workforce housing.
Drever’s idea of converting hotels into affordable workforce housing is not simple. However, it should be done after extensive consideration to avoid outsourcing any jobs and ensure that such conversions are compatible with the existing laws and regulations in the area where they are being done. Therefore, this leads to a greater risk of failure in this endeavour than success.
