Housing projects supplant Bay Area offices, stores as tech boom fades

A fast-shifting economy is prompting more developers to pursue what was unthinkable during the remarkable years-long tech boom: replacing office space with homes. Gone are ambitious and game-changing proposals for office buildings and tech campuses with enough space for several thousand workers in San Jose, other parts of Silicon Valley, and in East Bay cities such as Oakland and Berkeley. Housing units are the new grand plan as office projects head to the back shelves. Big-box retail centers and new hotel construction have also turned unpopular. More property owners are crafting “builder’s remedy” gambits for project proposals…