According to a study by RentCafe, an apartment listing service, developers are scheduled to convert four times as many commercial spaces into residential living in 2024 than in 2021-amounting to almost 56,000 new apartments in this year alone. This trend is largely concentrated in highly populated cities like New York, San Francisco, and London, where the vacant Heinz Headquarters in West London will soon be transformed into luxury apartments and park space.

 
Though the conversion rate of growth is lower this year compared to 2022 and 2023, experts say this trend is not going away anytime soon as post-pandemic hybrid and remote work models result in increasingly empty office spaces. As less people commute to work, business surrounding commercial buildings consequently experience a financial hit from the loss of customers. Some state governments are pushing towards conversion to address housing shortages and support local businesses, with some creating grants and tax break incentives for developers recycling unused office space.
Critics say that rezoning and refurbishing an office building to accommodate residents is too expensive, especially since the projects often result in luxury apartment complexes that totally contradict the stated claim of creating more affordable housing. However, supporters argue that demolition and reconstruction would be even more expensive, time-consuming, and damaging to the environment.
Landscape Architect and Specifier News is following the developments and will continue to provide updates.

https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/adaptive-reuse-office-to-apartments-2024/
https://time.com/6565216/offices-apartments-conversion-2024-remote-hybrid-work/
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/24/1189403058/downtown-real-estate-housing-offices