Adaptive reuse projects are continuing to bring thousands of new housing units onto the market as demand for office space remains low.
Office-to-residential conversion continues its growth, with 70,700 new apartments in the pipeline for 2025. The trend is part of the shift of central business districts and commercial areas to other uses, including residential, that has characterized the post-pandemic reorganization of cities. As Florin Petrut reports for RentCafe, “Office conversions now make up almost 42% of the nearly 169,000 apartments in future adaptive reuse projects.”
The report notes that more than 51,000 units under construction are carryovers from 2024, indicating a somewhat slow pace as construction costs, supply chain issues, and other challenges come into play. “A notable shift is indicated by the increase in adaptive reuse projects involving newer buildings constructed between the 1990s and 2010s. While only 1.27% of completed projects utilized these newer buildings, the figure jumps to 7.03% for future projects,” indicating a preference for newer buildings that are more adaptable and likely to meet modern building standards.
See the source article for a breakdown of the top 10 cities for adaptive reuse, with New York City taking the top spot with 8,310, or 53 percent of office-to-apartment conversions.
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