How to Convert Empty Offices Into Luxury Apartments | WSJ

Office conversions into apartments are surging as the amount of vacant office buildings continue to increase nationwide. With housing in short supply, real estate developers are converting more boardrooms into bedrooms.

But not all buildings are candidates for reuse, even as more than one billion square feet of office space sits vacant across the country. Could this be a solution to the U.S.’s housing shortage?

WSJ takes an inside look at the site of future luxury apartments in the Financial District of Manhattan to see the challenges behind converting an office building into housing.

0:00 Office to apartment conversions are rising
0:45 Why pre-war office buildings are suited for apartment conversions
2:42 Post-war buildings are challenging to convert
4:48 Office Conversions and affordable housing
6:06 Other financial and design challenges

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