Downtown Atlanta has a surplus of empty office space, and a new feasibility study asks whether some of it could become places for people to live. Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District released the analysis on a Monday in late March 2024. The consulting firm HR&A Advisors carried out the work.
The headline number: turning vacant offices into residences could produce roughly 1,500 affordable homes Downtown. Getting there, though, would take a $48 million public subsidy, according to the research.
The backdrop is a steep office vacancy rate. About 28% of Downtown office space sits empty, a trend largely tied to the shift toward remote work. Supporters of conversion see a chance to put more residents in the neighborhood, add homes close to transit and give a lift to a part of the city that has been struggling.
The researchers looked at 105 buildings that are not occupied by their owners and stand at least three stories tall. For each, they weighed size, floor plan and age to judge whether the structure could realistically be reworked into apartments.
They paired that physical review with market data, including rents, vacancy rates and the level of subsidy each project might need to pencil out. The team also examined how Chicago, Boston and other cities have used grants and tax abatements to help cover construction costs on similar projects.
The study sets a high bar. A building only makes financial sense to convert once its office vacancy tops 70%. Eleven Downtown buildings meet that threshold today or are expected to within five years.
Geographically, the strongest candidates sit in the stretch between Peachtree Center and State Farm Arena, an area where demand for office space has been softening while the residential market has been gaining ground.
Cost remains the biggest obstacle. Conversions can run as high as $250 per square foot, a price tag that could sink many projects on its own. Public incentives could help close that gap.
One important limitation: the analysis does not consider whether property owners would actually be willing to sell or convert their buildings.
Marilynn Davis of HR&A Advisors described the findings as showing there is no silver bullet for office conversions. In her view, several factors have to line up at once, and while Downtown has real potential, each building will need its own approach.
Alena Green, who leads economic development for Central Atlanta Progress, framed the issue as a practical one. The underused towers are not going away, she said, so the goal is to steer them toward new uses that protect property values rather than drag them down.
For downtownATL readers watching the residential side of the neighborhood grow, the study offers a map of where conversions are most likely and what it would cost to make them happen.
Original reporting by Wilborn P. Nobles III for Axios Atlanta.
