I keep hearing that empty office buildings are an economic time bomb. I keep hearing that housing inventory is low which is why house prices are high. Why can’t we convert offices to homes?

Question

I keep hearing that empty office buildings are an economic time bomb. I keep hearing that housing inventory is low which is why house prices are high. Why can’t we convert offices to homes?

In: 4298

Answer 1

There are conversions ongoing. The City of Calgary is doing this right now. But it is a long process with a ton of work required to bring them up to residential code. It’s also really tight making this economical for private companies. In Calgary this is really only happening as the City is providing huge grants to do the work.