U.S. colleges are taking advantage of a post-pandemic increase in affordable, unused offices by purchasing such properties for educational use, according to reporting by The New York Times. Since 2018, numerous higher education institutions in the U.S. have been acquiring office buildings, with 49 private and 16 public institutions making such purchases, as per data from real estate services company JLL.

“For schools seeking to expand, or just beef up their real estate portfolios, the purchases can be a bonanza,” The Times explains. “With the office market in a slump, they have bought buildings at bargain prices. Renovations are usually needed, but a makeover is typically not as expensive or as time-consuming as building from scratch."

Examples cited by The Times include the 1928 Title and Trust Building in Los Angeles purchased by UCLA in June and George Washington University’s interest in a ten-story office building from an arm of the World Bank in 2022. “It’s a different use but doesn’t need special changes to the building,” economic historian Dror Poleg told the NYT. “It stands out because almost nothing else is happening on the office market.”

Post-pandemic, the national office availability rate surged to over 24% from 17% pre-pandemic. Despite a national housing shortage prompting a push towards converting office spaces into residences, the transformation faces a variety of hurdles.

“Those conversions require overcoming a host of regulatory and architectural challenges, from rezoning for residential use to installing what could be dozens or even hundreds of kitchens and bathrooms, not to mention ensuring that apartments have windows,” The Times notes.

While these acquisitions offer benefits, they may pose challenges like tax revenue losses for cities, although some officials support the move hoping to revitalize dormant downtown areas. The design of buildings originally intended for office use also does not always lend itself to specialized academic adaptive reuse.

“Not all office buildings can be easily adapted for academic use,” The Times notes. “If a school is looking to add lab space, office ceilings may not be high enough to accommodate the ductwork needed for enhanced ventilation. And if an office building has large floors, it may be difficult to ensure every classroom has natural light.”