CommercialCafe recently published a study analyzing how much office space in urban cores represents feasible opportunity for conversion to residential use.
As we approach 2025, many U.S. cities face two pressing issues — increased levels of vacant office space and a shortage of affordable housing. Yet, this challenge also presents an opportunity.
The study used the CommercialEdge Conversion Feasibility Index (CFI) for this analysis, focusing on the 30 largest cities by urban core rentable office stock. We examined how much office space could potentially be converted in each location, and ranked them accordingly.
Denver ranked among the top 20 U.S. cities with the highest potential for office to residential conversions, placing 16th. Here’s what sets it apart:
- Denver was home to nearly 18 million square feet of Tier II conversion-feasible office space, which placed the city 9th within this category. This total represented nearly 27% of rentable office space in Denver.
- On the other hand, Denver recorded roughly 1.3 million square feet in Tier I (2% of total rentable stock), which ranked the city at #16 in the top-tier conversion-feasibility ranking.
- Nearly 81% of Tier I conversion-feasible office space in Denver (1.06 million square feet) and 35% of Tier II space (approximately 6 million square feet) was concentrated in the city’s central business district.
Zooming out, New York topped the list with nearly 84 million square feet of Tier I and 192 million square feet of Tier II conversion-feasible office space.
To learn more about how this new CommercialEdge research tool can support urban revitalization efforts across the U.S., see additional insights in an interview with Peter Kolaczynski, director at CommercialEdge. Read it here: https://www.commercialcafe.com/blog/top-u-s-cities-office-conversion-feasibility/
