Inside the Plan to Turn Empty Downtown Offices Into 1,200 Apartments

Three office towers that have sat mostly empty since 2021 could become 1,200 apartments under a proposal unveiled Tuesday by a group of local developers. The plan, presented to reporters and city officials in the lobby of one of the towers, would transform a stretch of downtown that has grown noticeably quiet after business hours. If approved, it would be the largest office-to-residential conversion in the city’s history.

The plan would gut the buildings’ interiors, add balconies and cut light wells into the center of each floor — the most expensive part of any office-to-residential conversion. Developers say the work will take about four years. Neighbors, housing advocates and city leaders are already asking a central question: who will be able to afford to live there?

The towers and the proposal

The three buildings sit within two blocks of each other near the center of downtown. Built between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, they once housed law firms, insurance offices and regional banking operations. Occupancy dropped sharply in 2021 as many employers shifted to remote and hybrid work, and several major tenants did not renew their leases.