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California  + Los Angeles  + Apartments  | 

CAA: Office-to-Apartment Conversions Accelerate in LA, San Francisco

Office-to-apartment conversions in California are accelerating, especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as developers seek to address housing shortages and repurpose vacant office space, according to the California Apartment Association. Citing a report from RentCafe, CAA said Los Angeles ranks third in the U.S. for future office-to-apartment conversions, with units in the pipeline increasing 80% year-over-year.

CAA said LA also has significant potential for further conversions, with 83 million square feet of office space, roughly 25% of the metro’s total inventory, considered suitable for residential redevelopment. One example is the transformation of ARCO Tower, a 33-story office building at 1055 Seventh St., into apartments. 

San Francisco, which has also seen rising office vacancies, has taken steps to encourage conversions. The city has updated its building codes, revised its Planning Code, and created a dedicated financing district to streamline approvals and provide financial incentives for redevelopment projects, said CAA. 

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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