While the pandemic ignited an excitement for “adaptive reuse” — mainly, office-to-residential conversions — current numbers lag behind 2020, which marked an all-time high for adaptive reuse projects. According to RentCafé, 10,090 apartments were converted in 2022, with office conversions experiencing a 15% slowdown year over year.

Looking ahead, though, Chicago is poised as a future leader for adaptive reuse.

Trailing New York and Los Angeles, Chicago boasts the third-largest number of apartments expected to be converted over the next years: 3,519 units. And of those, 70% are repurposed offices — surpassing both New York and Los Angeles, according to stats from RentCafé.

Of those many retrofitted office units, about half will be in Chicago’s Lasalle Corridor. With its LaSalle Reimagined initiative, the city plans to transform the Loop’s office-heavy district into a mixed-income, residential neighborhood.

Aside from offices, community centers are projected to account for 409 future rental apartments, schools for 336, factories for 136 and healthcare buildings for 100. In contrast to the national trend, former hotels are not expected to be a major source, resulting in just 84 projected units. 

However, at this point, Chicago’s adaptive reuse renaissance remains in the planning stages. Less than 20% of the forthcoming projects are undergoing construction.

via RentCafe