Converting vacant office space into micro-apartments could help ease the shortage of available housing in Washington, D.C. and spur more growth in the city’s downtown area, according to a report released by Gensler and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

American downtowns are facing a record 20% office vacancy rate with over one billion square feet of empty office space; the vacancy rate in D.C. is about on par with that rate. Office conversions in the city also benefit from no significant local regulatory barriers that often prohibit flexible co-living residential typologies, and similar co-living models that have proved successful in D.C. in the past decade.

The report shows that converting vacant office buildings into micro-apartments can be an especially good solution for the District because they take only about half as much time as new construction, conversions cost less than building new units, and they offer more affordable rents.