Office Conversions

View of Seattle skyline on clear sunny day with Space Needle on left and Mount Rainier in the background.

Deconstructing Office-to-Residential Conversions in Seattle

In a two-part inquiry in GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe looks at clearing the path to office-to-residential conversions and the complex path beyond.

March 25, 2024 - GeekWire

Historic buildings in downtown Los Angeles with large "Pan American Lofts" sign on side of building.

Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly

The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.

March 18, 2024 - Beverly Press

View from between tall white brick buildings in evening in downtown Los Angeles with modern office building across street.

Federal Office Conversion Program Slow to Start

To date, no loans have closed through a federal program meant to spur office-to-residential conversions.

March 3, 2024 - Bloomberg CityLab

Aerial view of rooftop of 25 Water Street building in New York City with redevelopment work going on on rooftop.

5 Office Conversions Making Waves in 2024

Adaptive reuse projects are transforming underutilized office space into mixed-use hubs of housing and commerce.

February 27, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

Workplaces in a modern panoramic office, New York city view from the windows. Open space. Black tables and brown leather chairs. A concept of financial consulting services. 3D rendering.

Record Number of Office-to-Apartment Conversions in 2024

More than 55,000 apartments across the U.S. are scheduled for conversion from old office space this year, according to a new report.

February 7, 2024 - Yield Pro

Close-up of glass facade of office building with office furniture visible through the windows.

Office Conversions at Record High

The number of office-to-residential adaptive reuse projects in the works for 2024 is four times as high as in 2021.

January 25, 2024 - Building Design & Construction

View from street of two neoclassical buildings with narrow alley between them.

Adapting the Curb for Adaptive Reuse

The rise in conversions of office buildings to housing and other uses raises questions about curb management and parking.

January 8, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

Google street view of multistory white Bridgeview Bank building in Chicago, Illinois.

The Golden Age of Office Conversions

In 2023, there were more than twice as many adaptive reuse projects underway around the country as in prior years.

December 28, 2023 - CoStar News

Close-up of top of ornate Art Deco blue tile Eastern building in downtown Los Angeles

Easing Regulations for Adaptive Reuse

Cities with ordinances aimed at making commercial-to-residential conversions easier are reaping the benefits.

September 12, 2023 - Route Fifty

Large empty open-plan office with rows of white desks and black chairs under bright fluorescent lighting

How to Make Office Conversions Easier

To encourage more housing production, lawmakers could help make the costly and time-consuming adaptive reuse process easier and more cost-effective.

May 11, 2023 - Next City

South of Market

11,000 Housing Units Possible with S.F. Office Conversions, Study Says

A new study by SPUR and the Urban Land Institute’s San Francisco chapter estimates a specific number of apartment units that could be built from vacant office units in the city.

March 29, 2023 - The San Francisco Chronicle

View of downtown Dallas skyline at night with tall tower lined with green lights

Dallas Ahead of the Game in Adaptive Reuse

Thanks in part to a state tax credit created in the early 2000s, downtown Dallas is set to create roughly 1,500 new housing units by converting office buildings to residential uses.

March 21, 2023 - Dallas Business Journal

Buildings on Wall Street, New York City

The ‘Goldilocks Zone’ for Office Conversion

A formula for the ideal office-to-housing candidate.

March 21, 2023 - Fast Company

Workplaces in a modern panoramic office, New York city view from the windows. Open space. Black tables and brown leather chairs. A concept of financial consulting services. 3D rendering.

Why Office Conversion is Trickier Than You Think

Converting office buildings to housing is almost always possible, but, thanks in part to design changes in newer office buildings, it can often be cost-prohibitive.

March 15, 2023 - The New York Times

Buildings on Wall Street, New York City

NYC Mayor Proposes Office Conversion Plan

Proposed zoning updates that would make it easier to convert office buildings in commercial districts to housing and other uses could yield up to 20,000 new housing units in the next decade.

January 12, 2023 - Gothamist

Blueish tinged shot looking up at modern glass office buildings

Office Conversions More Popular Than Ever

The adaptive reuse of non-residential buildings has soared in recent years as demand for office space drops and the housing shortage deepens.

November 21, 2022 - Smart Cities Dive

San Francisco Skyline

How Office Conversions Could Benefit San Francisco

The city could emulate Calgary, New York, and other cities in supporting office conversions as a way to boost floundering downtown economies and provide much-needed additional housing.

October 21, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of downtown San Antonio with Tower Life Building in foreground

San Antonio Office Tower To Become Residential

With the building more than half vacant, the new owners of the Tower Life Building plan to convert the historic tower into residences that could include affordable housing.

August 15, 2022 - San Antonio Report

Los Angeles Downtown Historic Core

Surveying the Rising Trend of Office-to-Residential Conversions

With office vacancies climbing and a stubborn supply crunch driving up the cost of housing, some downtowns have emerged at the forefront of a new wave of adaptive reuse.

August 2, 2022 - CoStar Group News

Washington, D.C. Apartment

Toward a System of Adaptive Reuse Feasibility

A relative lack of conversions from office to residential—the adaptive reuse model driving the housing market in many urban areas—makes the Washington, D.C. region a perfect place to study the factors that make or break an adaptive reuse proposal.

November 21, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

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