Vacancy to Vibrancy – External Effects, Finance Models and Collaboration in Heritage Building Revitalization. Framework

Vacant buildings can negatively impact a city's social and economic appeal. Addressing this issue is crucial, and the revitalization of these buildings becomes imperative. Revitalizations often require large investments, especially when it comes to listed buildings. Listed buildings are significant buildings that are legally protected to preserve their cultural heritage. Therefore these listed buildings must be revitalized in a sensitive way to preserve their unique character. This leads to discussions wether this high level of effort and costs is in relation to the building's long-term impact. At this point, it is sensible to incorporate external socio-economic effects such as the Bilbao effect, where a building can lead to increased tourism in a city. This highlights the need for collaboration between different stakeholders, leveraging both the resources of the private sector while ensuring public interests. This study begins with a literature review of socio-economic external effects of revitalizations, followed by an exploration of financing models that link these external effects with the necessary investments. The study concludes with a framework, designed to promote collaboration between public and private stakeholders.