American cities are short on housing yet full of unused space. Since COVID-19-era shutdowns, large chunks of commercial real estate – particularly in urban epicenters where people once commuted to work – have sat vacant for more than half a decade.

Prior to the pandemic, office vacancies hit a record low of 11.4% in 2019. In America’s top metropolitan areas, the vacancy rate reached a historic high of 20.1% in 2024. It slightly improved in 2025, but remained at 18.4% by the year’s end.

With nearly a quarter of the workforce going remote, and no amount of return-to-office mandates likely to change this trend, it’s time for cities to repurpose these empty buildings to meet the demands of the moment.

Home sweet ... office space?

While offices closed down, the demand for housing in America’s greatest cities never subsided. With a relatively constrained supply of apartments, the cost of rent skyrocketed, especially in popular cities like New York. Rents there vastly outpaced inflation, rising 6.6% in the past year.

It seems as if the cost of rent began to dominate political discourse around affordability, with voters’ attention turning to how housing policy can meet the needs of the people. Pushed by public sentiment, now elected........

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