Why Office-to-Residential Conversions Are Stalling in 2026

Office-to-residential conversion projects are getting plenty of headlines but the numbers tell a different story. Lucas and Luna examine why fewer than 3 percent of eligible US office buildings have been converted, digging into the structural challenges that developers face: floor plates too deep for natural light, plumbing risers that don't align with apartment layouts, and the high cost of abating asbestos in buildings from the 1970s. They walk through a real case — a 1960s tower in downtown Denver that was priced at $18 million but would need $45 million more to become apartments — to show why simple math kills most deals. They also look at one emerging solution: adaptive reuse of older, thinner office buildings built before 1950, where conversion costs can be 40 percent lower. The episode closes with a question about whether federal tax incentives or local zoning reforms could tip the scales. #OfficeConversions #AdaptiveReuse #CommercialRealEstate #UrbanDevelopment #Denver #ConstructionCosts #ZoningReform #RealEstateInvesting #PropertyDevelopment #FloorPlate #Asbestos #TaxIncentives #DowntownRevitalization #HousingSupply #Business #RealEstate #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo