As office vacancy rates soar in major cities, innovative conversions of vacant commercial buildings into co-living spaces are emerging as a promising solution to urban housing crises, offering affordability and community for young renters.
Jett Jasper, 37, epitomises a growing trend in urban housing: co-living. Moving from Kauai, Hawaii, to Washington, DC, for a political communications role, Jasper sought more than just affordable rent—he wanted community. Co-living, where individuals rent private rooms but share common spaces, offered him a solution that combined social interaction with convenience. Living in Colette, a development offering fully furnished rooms with amenities like cable, WiFi, and biweekly cleaning for around $1,400 a month, Jasper enjoys a cost well below DC’s median rent of $2,155. The complex also handles tenant vetting, alleviating the stress of finding reliable roommates, which Jasper describes as “definitely a lot easier than getting your own place and maybe putting an ad on Craigslist and hoping for the best.”
Co-living arrangements like Jasper’s have gained popularity since the mid-2010s, appealing primarily to millennials and Gen Z renters burdened by soaring housing costs. The US Census data from 2023 show that nearly half of all renters are rent-burdened, paying more than 30% of their income on housing. Co-living has been embraced not only as an affordable alternative but also as a way to foster community among digital nomads and young professionals, though critics often liken it to “adult dorms.” More than a fringe housing style, co-living increasingly presents itself as a strategic response to urban housing crises.
A significant innovation in this space is the conversion of vacant office buildings into co-living spaces, a model championed by firms like Gensler and supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The pandemic-induced shift to remote and hybrid work left many office buildings underutilised or empty, particularly in major cities with high rents and housing shortages. Gensler’s research reveals that repurposing office floors into shared living spaces with private bedrooms but communal kitchens and bathrooms can slash construction costs by 25% to 35%. This is achieved by retaining much of the existing office infrastructure, avoiding costly rerouting of plumbing and mechanical systems. Such conversions could yield rental prices significantly below market rates—for instance, in Chicago, co-living units could rent for as low as $750 per month, compared to the city’s median rent of $1,663.
This approach does more than offer affordable housing; it promises to revitalise struggling central business districts. Cities like Chicago, Washington, DC, Albuquerque, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Seattle are seen as prime candidates for these conversions due to their high downtown office vacancies and acute housing needs. The potential to simultaneously address vacancy and housing affordability has garnered attention from urban planners and local governments keen to mitigate housing crises while repurposing underused urban assets.
While the office-to-co-living concept remains largely theoretical, most existing co-living options, including Colette, are newly constructed developments rather than conversions. Nonetheless, cities are increasingly cutting red tape and providing incentives to accelerate office-to-residential projects, with examples found in Chicago, New York City, and Washington, DC. These efforts involve financial incentives, streamlined permitting, and policy reforms designed to stimulate the transformation of commercial real estate into viable, affordable housing solutions. Projects such as The LaSalle Residences in Chicago demonstrate the practical benefits of office conversions in reinvigorating downtown areas and expanding housing supply.
Industry experts like Terry Hogan of Gensler stress that co-living is evolving into a broadly attractive market solution that caters to diverse renter needs, positioning it as a forward-thinking approach to the intertwined crises of housing affordability and urban vacancy. For renters like Jasper, co-living is already delivering tangible benefits—lower costs, community, and convenience—which bodes well for its future role in reshaping urban housing landscapes.
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Source: Noah Wire Services
Verification / Sources
- https://www.businessinsider.com/co-living-apartments-cheap-rent-fix-housing-crisis-2025-8 – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.businessinsider.com/co-living-apartments-cheap-rent-fix-housing-crisis-2025-8 – This article discusses the rise of co-living arrangements as a solution to the housing crisis, highlighting the experiences of individuals like Jett Jasper, who found affordable housing through co-living in Washington, D.C. It also explores the potential of converting office buildings into co-living spaces to address housing shortages and affordability issues in urban areas.
- https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2025/04/28/chicago-and-washington-dc-among-cities-well-suited-for-office-to-co-living-conversions – This report from The Pew Charitable Trusts and Gensler examines how converting empty office buildings into co-living spaces could address housing shortages in cities like Chicago and Washington, D.C. It suggests that such conversions could provide low-cost, centrally located housing options, with rents approximately half the median rent in each city.
- https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2024/10/22/co-living-could-unlock-office-to-residential-conversions – This article explores how co-living arrangements can facilitate the conversion of underutilised office spaces into affordable housing. It discusses the potential benefits of such conversions, including reduced construction costs and the creation of low-cost housing options in downtown areas.
- https://www.multihousingnews.com/beyond-9-to-5-how-office-conversions-are-reviving-downtowns/ – This piece highlights various office-to-residential conversion projects, such as The LaSalle Residences in Chicago, which repurpose underutilised office spaces into apartments. It discusses how these conversions aim to revitalise downtown areas and provide affordable housing options.
- https://www.governing.com/urban/cities-cut-red-tape-to-promote-office-to-housing-conversions – This article discusses how cities and states are implementing measures to promote office-to-housing conversions, including offering incentives and funding. It highlights examples from New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., where such conversions are being encouraged to address housing shortages.
- https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/market-insight/features/future-nyc/ten-office-to-rental-conversions-coming-new-york-city/66144 – This article provides an overview of upcoming office-to-rental conversion projects in New York City, detailing specific buildings and the number of units to be created. It discusses how these conversions aim to address the city’s housing crisis by increasing the availability of affordable housing.
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Score: 8
Notes: The narrative presents recent developments in co-living as a solution to the housing crisis, with specific examples from Washington, DC, and mentions of office-to-residential conversions. The earliest known publication date of similar content is from 2018, discussing co-living in San Francisco. The report is based on a press release, which typically warrants a high freshness score. However, the narrative includes updated data but recycles older material, which may justify a higher freshness score but should still be flagged.
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