Will Easier Conversions Delay Office Housing or Just Prove the Model Works?

The adaptive reuse housing boom is real and accelerating across multiple property types. Schools are being converted at record rates, with nearly 2,000 apartments built in former schools in 2024 alone, quadruple the number from the year before. Hotels and extended-stay properties are being repurposed faster, with 37 percent of all adaptive reuse projects in 2024 coming from hospitality conversions and 9,100 new apartments delivered through hotel conversions, a 46 percent increase from the previous year. Shopping malls are following suit, with at least 192 malls announcing housing plans. The question is whether this diversification of conversions will create competitive pressure that diverts capital from office-to-residential projects, or whether it’s actually proving out the conversion model in ways that eventually benefit all adaptive reuse categories...