Phoenix office-to-dorm conversions could tackle housing affordability, revitalize downtown

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on October 21, 2025

Converting vacant high-rise office buildings into dorm-style living for adults could be key to tackling housing affordability struggles while also helping revitalize Phoenix’s downtown, according to a report from Gensler

Such projects could also present an attractive opportunity for developers who may be wary of traditional office-to-apartment conversion projects, as they offer quick speed to market and lower development costs, the report concluded.

“You can do one of these conversions and bring homes online, these new micro apartments, in about half the time that ground up construction would take,” said Tushar Kansal, a senior officer for housing policy at Pew Charitable Trusts.

Such living arrangements – dubbed “co-living” – include small, private micro-apartments with shared kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms for “students, service workers, recent college graduates, and others priced out of Phoenix’s increasingly expensive housing market,” according to the report.

 and Pew Charitable Trusts.

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