Dive Brief:

• Apartment conversion projects “accelerated at an unprecedented pace” across the U.S. in 2024, according to a new RentCafe report. Last year, nearly 25,000 apartments were completed via adaptive reuse, up 50% compared to 2023 and double the amount of such conversions in 2022.
• Currently, a record-breaking 180,585 apartments from adaptive reuse projects are in various stages of development across the nation, mostly from office spaces — up 19% compared to last year, according to RentCafe.
• This strong redevelopment activity indicates that major cities are actively transforming underperforming properties, revitalizing neighborhoods and continuing to adapt to the era of remote work, per the report. 

Dive Insight:

Hotels were again the top category for adaptive reuse projects in 2024, though office conversions were still popular and accounted for nearly a quarter of all new units, per the report. Goleta, California-based RentCafe based the Oct. 24 report on apartment data as of July 2025 pulled from its sister company Yardi Matrix.

More than 9,100 of the 24,700 apartments completed through adaptive reuse last year came from repurposed hotels — an all-time high and a 46% increase over 2023. This resurgence was driven by slimmer profit margins, rising operating costs, uneven demand and a variety of other economic factors, all of which have compelled some hotel owners to sell.

Office conversions were still strong, though, and 7 out of 10 new converted apartments delivered in 2024 came from class A buildings, while offices with fewer amenities (class B and C) accounted for just 28% and 1%, respectively. Newer, high-quality buildings offer big advantages for conversions, with modern infrastructure and locations that are attractive for luxury apartment projects, per RentCafe.

School-to-apartment conversions were the fastest-growing type of reuse project in 2024, with a fourfold increase from 2023. That was due to declining student enrollment numbers in some urban areas, as well as the high costs of renovating historic buildings, according to the report.

Chicago replaced Manhattan as the top metro for apartments created from repurposed buildings with 880 units completed in 2024, though the New York City borough led in office conversions, and Baltimore had the most hotel transformations.

Second on the list was Denver, which more than doubled its conversions from 2023. The city has also launched an Adaptive Reuse Pilot Program aimed at revitalizing the central business district by supporting office-to-residential conversions.

Buffalo, New York, stands out as the most active city in the industrial reuse category, with plans to deliver 1,250 apartments by transforming 10 industrial buildings.

Top cities with most converted apartments in 2024

Looking ahead, 43% of upcoming adaptive reuse units in the pipeline are coming from office spaces, up from 38.5% in 2024. Hotels are second, accounting for 20% of all future adaptive reuse projects with 35,800 anticipated units, while adaptive reuse projects involving industrial buildings represent 17% of upcoming conversions.

Manhattan has by far the most conversions planned, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

“While the adaptive reuse trend has accelerated at an unprecedented pace in 2024, its growth story is far from over,” according to the report.

Top cities for future apartment conversions