The pipeline for new apartments in old offices is growing.
Why it matters: Converting offices is easier said than done, but cities and developers see it as one of the best ways to reduce vacancies while adding housing.
By the numbers: In Richmond, 723 apartment units are in the works through adaptive reuse, that is making housing out of a building that used to be something else, according to a recent RentCafe report.
Of those, 300 units (41% of those reuse conversions) are former office flips.
Zoom in: Downtown seems to be ground zero for local office-to apartment conversions.
More apartments are in the works in two former office buildings between 7th and 8th streets, including an ongoing conversion of the former Wytestone Plaza, which sold this month for $26.1 million, per BizSense.
Developers completed less than 7% of office-to-apartment units underway nationwide in 2024, pushing most into 2025, according to a recent RentCafe report.
Meanwhile, thousands of new conversions have been proposed.
What's next: TheNew York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles metros are set to see the most office-to-apartment conversions in the coming years, per the report.
