The pandemic forever changed the idea of a central business district in major cities consisting of primarily of office buildings, retail space, and restaurants. Now, as developers are buying up empty office space to convert to apartments and condos, more central business districts are being converted into areas with the feel and amenities of a neighborhood.
Take Chicago, for instance, where at least 11 office building conversions are either in the pipeline, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. While not every office building is a candidate to be converted, a report from real estate data company CommercialCafe estimated that at least 27 percent of buildings could be converted. Many experts, though, believe that estimate is too low. The city estimates that there is currently as much as 1.3 million square feet of empty office space that could be converted.
Chicago’s downtown office vacancy rate reached 23.2 percent at the end of 2024, according to Bradford Allen, an all-time high. Though there have been signs of an uptick in commercial leases in recent months, according to REJournals.
Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine.
