As office towers sit half-empty and rents continue to soar, a new study suggests Phoenix could tackle both problems at once—by turning vacant offices into affordable housing.
The analysis, highlighted by AZ Big Media, finds that converting idle office buildings into co-living microunits could generate hundreds of lower-cost homes across the city. The proposed units, priced around $850 per month, would be affordable to residents earning about 43% of the area’s median income—a group increasingly squeezed by rising housing costs.
Researchers point out that office vacancies in Phoenix have climbed to 23%, while rents have jumped 33% since 2018. Adaptive reuse, they argue, offers a fast and financially viable solution, requiring far less time and expense than new construction.
Beyond affordability, experts say such conversions could revitalize downtown neighborhoods, bringing renewed foot traffic and local spending to districts hollowed out by remote work and economic shifts.
With housing affordability now one of the region’s most pressing challenges, the study positions adaptive reuse as both a practical and creative step toward rebalancing Phoenix’s urban core.
