In 2024, developers are undertaking an extraordinary endeavor to rejuvenate aging office structures into inviting rentals, setting a historic record with the largest-ever conversion of office buildings into residential units: A total of 55,339 apartments are currently undergoing office-to-apartment conversions nationwide. That’s nearly five times the number of adaptive-reuse rentals in the pipeline just three years ago — a modest 12,100 units.  

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Not only does Metro Phoenix have the 10th largest pipeline of office-to-apartment conversions in the country, but it also doubled the number of new rentals from office space transformations year-over-year, surpassing Seattle, Philadelphia and Denver in units expected to come online. 

Here are the highlights from RentCafe.com’s latest report: 

  • Renters in Phoenix metro can look forward to 1,377 new apartments on the market after a whopping 114% increase in the transformation of aging office buildings compared to 2023. 
  • Moreover, almost two-thirds (63%) of all the adaptive reuse projects in Phoenix metro are office redevelopments with Kierland Sky at the forefront. This office building in Scottsdale will become a residential haven with 420 apartments. 
  • In fact, this building from 2000 is the youngest in the country to undergo such a transformation. Our report found that the average age of office buildings slated for conversion into rentals is 72 years. What’s noteworthy, however, is that this age, although relatively high, is 20 years younger than the average age of office buildings that have previously become multifamily properties. 
  • Overall, the metros with the largest pipelines of office-to-apartment conversions are Washington, D.C. (5,820 units), New York (5,215 units) and Dallas(3,163 units), Chicago (2,822 units) and Los Angeles (2,442). Remarkably, these rental giants are followed closely by three Midwestern metros, Ohio’s Clevelandand Cincinnati and Kansas City, MO. Atlanta is the 9th busiest metro for office redevelopments with a pipeline of 1,422 units. 
  • Notably, 20 of America’s metros account for two-thirds (67%) of all the office-to-apartment conversions, leading the way to a more sustainable and community-focused urban environments, as well as adding much needed housing.