A new report published by the Brookings Institution is offering potential solutions for developers, architects, and urban planners engaged in office-to-residential conversions in the hopes of remedying the spate of downtown declines that are beginning to plague cities across the country.

Co-authors Tracy Hadden Loh, Egon Terplan, and DW Rowlands explain: “This report begins by identifying the five common arguments made by proponents for converting offices into housing. It then evaluates the myths and realities of each argument, using data from cities across the United States. It concludes with six recommendations for what cities should do about conversions and what other long-term strategies they could adopt.”

By first identifying and then debunking the critical “myths” they say predominate thinking in the market, the authors make possible a clearer path towards more informed conversion strategies. Notions that conversions are either too pricey or the key to providing solutions to affordable housing to places like Midtown Manhattan get broken down alongside the misconception about American downtowns having too many offices and the bigger economic concern, which assumes most workers will simply not be returning at all.

The related anxiety that vacant offices could start us on an “Urban Doom Loop” and that all cities are indeed going broke from the lost tax revenue is countered with six actions that can be taken by governments and private interests to address the growing conundrum with the smartest possible “all-hands-on-deck strategy.” 

Some include actually making it easier to construct new buildings and using spaces away from downtown cores (e.g. office parks) and the “strongest job centers” as the primary sources of redevelopment, spurred by smarter tax incentive structuring.

This is a rather wide-ranging attempt to grapple with some of the largest areas related to conversion planning, but, the authors caution, “There are still many ways to advance the conversation about office conversions to incorporate other ideas and considerations that can better address these challenges.”

“This is a critical moment to recognize the unique benefits of centrally located, economically productive, and dense downtowns as job centers, social and activity destinations, as well as places for living,” the report continues. “The task ahead is to find creative ways to ensure their ongoing vitality and relevance.”

This information is useful at a time when the market for conversions has almost doubled in the years following the pandemic, a reality which has left one-third of all Americans working remotely while designers are met with unforeseen challenges finding the “Goldilocks” zones of structures that are ill-equipped for repurposing in 3 out of every 10 instances, according to Gensler.

“Rushing to reduce the current challenge of office vacancy with a one-size-fits-all solution of office-to-residential conversion will create its own set of problems,” the report cautions finally. The full text can be found here.