Office-to-Residential Playbook Newsletter
Quick and insightful weekly updates about adaptive reuse in the office market.
The Office-to-Residential Conversion Playbook
The market is overbuilt with office space. It is underbuilt with housing. Conversion is the opportunity zone of the decade.
A movement, not a moment
Propmodo’s Office to Residential Playbook is a multimedia content and special event series focused on the future of adaptive reuse in the office market. With office vacancies at unsustainable levels and housing demand surging, the conversion of office buildings into residential units is more than a trend—it’s a movement.
This one-of-a-kind platform is designed for developers, owners, investors, policy professionals, architects, designers, and other stakeholders. It combines news, high-value educational content, and multimedia resources with a comprehensive database of office-to-residential conversion projects.
Conversion Database
A searchable directory of every office-to-residential project across the U.S.
Webinars
Expert-led discussions unpacking the challenges and opportunities in conversion.
Case Studies
Examples of successful office conversions and why they worked.
Live Event
A high-level gathering of decision-makers shaping the conversion landscape.
News
In-depth reporting on the trends driving office-to-residential conversions.
Podcast
Conversations with the people reshaping the future of office space conversion.
Latest News
Jacksonville’s Former JEA Headquarters Is Getting a Second Life as Housing
Downtown Jacksonville’s next major adaptive reuse project is moving forward, and it comes with the kind of ingredients cities increasingly…
209 West Jackson Shows Chicago’s Office Conversion Wave Is Entering Its Next Phase
Chicago’s office conversion wave is already well underway, and 209 West Jackson Boulevard shows the next phase: privately backed projects…
Charlotte’s 200 North College Street Begins Shift From Empty Offices to 290 Apartments
Charlotte’s office market has spent the last several years wrestling with a problem that many Sun Belt cities once thought…
Why 2027 Will Be the Biggest Year for Office Conversions on Record
In 2015, North America saw 29 significant office-to-residential conversions complete. In 2017, the count was 34. As recently as 2022,…
San Jose’s Bank of Italy Tower Begins a Second Life as Housing
For nearly a century, the Bank of Italy tower at 12 South First Street has stood over downtown San Jose…
Chicago Office Tower Trades at Distressed Price as Apartment Conversion Plans Emerge
Chicago’s office distress cycle has entered a new phase. The first phase was denial. The second was lenders quietly extending…
LIVE WEBINAR
Evaluating the Economics and Capital Stack of Office-to-Residential Conversions
March 24, 2025 | 1:00 PM ET
Office-to-residential conversions are often framed as a cure for empty offices and housing shortages, but the reality is far more selective. In this webinar, we’ll walk through how developers and investors actually evaluate whether a building can pencil as a conversion, from acquisition price and construction costs to unit mix, rents, financing, and timelines. The session will also examine how tools like historic tax credits, C-PACE financing, tax abatements, and other incentives can shift a project from impossible to viable. Rather than treating conversions as a universal solution, the discussion focuses on the practical signals that help determine whether a project deserves serious underwriting—or whether the smartest move is to walk away.
