Despite efforts on the part of many employers to bring workers back to the office, office buildings are now the most distressed segment of the commercial real estate market.
Move over, dead malls: there’s a new troubled kid in town. “According to a new report by MSCI Real Assets analyzing the commercial real-estate sector, around $24.8 billion of office buildings in the U.S. were in financial distress by the end of the second quarter — surpassing both retail (which includes malls) and hotels,” explains Clio Chang in Curbed.
“As remote work continues to force companies to cut back their real-estate footprints, the MSCI report showed that the measure of offices in distress was up by 36 percent since the first quarter. Meanwhile, the country’s overall office-vacancy rate is at 20 percent.”
While housing advocates tout office vacancies as an opportunity to convert these centrally located buildings to housing, it remains to be seen if that idea can overcome the costs and logistical challenges of adaptive reuse.
Read the full story: Offices Are the New Malls
With Zero Office Conversions in Four Years, San Francisco Pins Hopes on New Special Financing District
City leaders hope the new incentive will spur the redevelopment of some of the city’s 30,000 square feet of vacant office space into housing.
Dorm-Style Housing: A Solution for DC’s Vacant Office Buildings
Adapting office buildings to dorm-style housing with shared spaces is a much more affordable option than repurposing offices into apartments.
How the Post-Covid Reality Is Reshaping Central Business Districts and Urban Centers
U.S. cities are working to redefine their downtowns in response to the “donut effect:” people and businesses abandoning city centers and flocking to suburban areas and beyond.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Study reveals best places in the U.S. for cycling, walking
New research from Streetlight Data examines bicycle and pedestrian miles per capita in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population.
Chicago cuts ribbon on $300,000, self-cleaning public toilet
The public toilet is the city’s first, and may pave the way for a rollout of similar facilities.
Sharp cuts to Oregon public transit, rail on the horizon without additional funding
Transportation workgroup has until Dec. 15 to send its report to Gov. Tina Kotek
Why does it take an emergency for the U.S. to expedite infrastructure projects?
In June 2023, Philadelphia repaired a melted interstate in 12 days thanks to an emergency order.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Charlotte
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello