Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
- Cities are converting vacant offices into coliving spaces to address rising housing costs and underused buildings.
- Coliving designs cut construction costs up to 35% and triple unit density using shared kitchens, bathrooms, and lounges.
- Flexible leases and built-in community appeal to diverse tenants, but zoning laws and skepticism still pose challenges.
Many high-rise buildings in the U.S. are still underutilized after the pandemic. At the same time, rising housing costs have placed pressure on municipalities to deliver more affordable living options.Â
In what may seem like the obvious and ideal solution, more and more urban planners and developers are exploring coliving apartments as a practical way to repurpose these vacant buildings while addressing housing needs.
Recent findings from architecture firm Gensler and The Pew Charitable Trusts suggest that cities like Washington, D.C., and Chicago are particularly well-suited for this type of conversion. These urban centers have a surplus of outdated office inventory, and the basic layout of many commercial buildings lends itself to high-density residential reconfiguration.Â
Conversions like these could be instrumental in supporting commercial real estate investment as the future of work, and where it’s conducted, evolves.Â
Why Should Offices Be Converted to Housing?
Coliving apartments differ from traditional multifamily housing in that they consist of compact, private units arranged around shared amenities. Residents typically have a private bedroom while sharing bathrooms, kitchens, and communal lounges. In Washington, some coliving units already support up to six tenants per suite.
In Chicago, where office vacancy reached 16.4% in the second quarter, and Washington, where it has climbed to 17%, the urgency to find creative uses for empty space is growing. These rates are significantly higher than the national office vacancy average of 13.9%, according to CoStar.
This approach of converting office spaces to living areas offers key advantages for cities facing rising construction costs and limited space. Unlike full-scale apartment conversions, coliving projects can utilize much of a building’s existing infrastructure, including plumbing and mechanical systems.Â
Last year Pew and Gensler released a report that showed the advantages of dorm-style office conversions. These layouts place 120 to 190 square foot micro-units around each floor’s edge, with shared kitchens, bathrooms, and lounges in the center. The design cuts construction costs by 25% to 35% and allows for three times more units per floor than standard apartment conversions.
Financial and Social Value
Coliving units tend to be fully furnished, with utilities and services included in the monthly rent. Lease terms are typically more flexible than those found in traditional apartments. While these units generate higher rents on a per-square-foot basis for operators, the overall cost to renters is often lower than a studio or one-bedroom in the same location.
This model supports a variety of residents: young professionals entering the workforce, college students, workers in the service economy, and older adults seeking to downsize in central locations. The built-in communal environment can also help counter social isolation and support workers who may be new to a city.
The availability of more affordable housing in cities could also give workers who are being called back to the office more options when determining how they could feasibly make a move back after the city exodus during the pandemic.
An increase in city residents could also boost the candidate pool for companies that are reverting to local-only hiring.Â
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Urban Policies Begin to Adapt
Policy efforts are already underway in some cities to encourage conversions. Washington, D.C., has introduced tax abatements and property reclassifications to support office-to-residential projects. The city has a goal to add 15,000 residents downtown by 2028, and officials are actively pursuing strategies to make that feasible.
Despite the early momentum, several barriers could limit widespread adoption. Zoning restrictions in many jurisdictions still prohibit multiple unrelated adults from sharing a single apartment. In some areas, minimum unit size requirements and outdated building codes make coliving developments difficult to approve.
Beyond regulation, there is still skepticism about the model itself.Â
Some critics see coliving as a temporary fix or associate it with student housing. Others question whether these units provide enough privacy or long-term livability.Â
As cities consider supporting coliving projects, they will need to balance affordability goals with thoughtful design standards and tenant protections.
What’s Next
Gensler and Pew are continuing to examine cities where coliving may be a feasible addition to housing stock. In recent months, they have identified Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Denver, and Minneapolis as candidates for future conversions. They are also evaluating the potential for projects in New Mexico, including in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Outside the U.S., interest in coliving as a reuse strategy is also taking shape. In London, investors have committed over £200 million to transform a commercial property into shared housing.
While coliving is unlikely to replace traditional residential models, it may prove to be an important part of the solution in cities facing high vacancy rates and unmet housing demand.Â
With the right regulatory adjustments and a practical financial approach, converting empty office buildings into communal living spaces offers a path worth pursuing in the future of commercial real estate.
