Building an Algorithm to Decide Whether a Building Will Check Out or Not?

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The algorithm looks at things like floor plate size, the distance from the elevators to the windows and how many floors there were. It then calculates over 100 different pieces of data, you know, how many units in the building,. And then says, is that going to be nice or not, do people want to live there? If we can answer that question, then we've kind of answered the question of whether or not the project could be profitable.

Industry experts agree: Converting unused office towers to residential buildings is great in theory, but a moonshot to pull off. Despite the grab bag of obstacles that make these projects so difficult, the developer and office landlord Hines is getting in on the action. The Real Deal breaks down how Hines' Salt Lake City project pencils out and what it signals about the right building for the job.

Guests: Steven Paynter, studio director at Gensler's Toronto office; Dusty Harris, senior managing director of Hines' Utah and Oregon investment activity.