United States Real Estate Investor

What This Chicago Office Conversion Includes Inside the Chicago conversion effort, the redevelopment centers on turning office floors into housing at a scale that signals rapid change for underused downtown buildings. Chicago’s broader push includes the LaSalle Reimagined initiative, which is driving major office-to-residential proposals in the downtown core. Upper Floors Shift to Residential Use The plan covers multiple floor bands in different properties, including floors 7 through 14, floors 13 through 16, and floors 3 through 18. In River North, the upper six stories of a 10-story building are being remade as apartments. Existing ground-floor retail tenants, including Roka Akor and Tarry Coffee, remain in place during construction. Mixed-Income and Street-Level Components Affordable housing is embedded across the conversion program. This supports a mixed-income model aligned with city adaptive reuse incentives. The project also emphasizes streetscape activation through retail, res...

What Is Formativ Building in RiNo? At 3850 Blake Street, the Formativ building in RiNo is a 16-story multifamily development planned as a 310-unit residential community in Denver’s River North Art District. The project is designed as Class A housing with studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments across 275,608 square feet. Its unit strategy centers on efficient layouts and small-format living, with average apartment sizes reported at under 600 square feet. Formativ presents the building as an attainable housing response within central Denver. Reports indicate a significant share of units will serve households at workforce and below-market income levels, supported by compact design and transit adjacency. The broader multifamily investment backdrop has drawn attention from REITs, with net operating income growth topping 3% in 2024. Construction financing reached $65.5 million in July 2025. Groundbreaking followed in June 2025. Topping out was completed in March 2026, and opening ...

How Big Is Philly’s Conversion Surge? Philadelphia’s office-to-apartment conversion surge has accelerated sharply. At the start of the year, 2,697 units were in the pipeline, more than double the prior year’s total. That total places Philadelphia seventh nationally for adaptations underway or planned. It also marks the city’s first appearance in the top 10. The pipeline spans multiple project stages , including projects already under conversion as well as planned and prospective redevelopments. Market Shifts Become Measurable The scale is significant across the metro area. Offices account for 19% of all future conversions. That shows how deeply market shifts are influencing redevelopment patterns and housing supply. In 2024 alone, conversions are expected to deliver 975 units. Tightening credit markets seen in other cities show how financing volatility can influence whether large redevelopment pipelines stay on track. Major Projects Signal Momentum Large projects are reinforcing the t...

Key Takeaways Stringent regulations and costly retrofits threaten to stall developer interest, placing historic buildings like the Peyton Building at risk and straining water and transit systems. Climbing vacancies and aging infrastructure present major challenges, and the current $20 million budget may not be sufficient if construction costs continue to rise. Swift action is crucial to prevent further downtown decline and ensure Spokane seizes this revitalization opportunity.   Downtown Housing Revitalization Faces Major Hurdles The Spokane office-to-residential conversion plan is officially approved, opening 700 new units near Riverfront Park as downtown towers sit half-empty. Vacancy is rising, infrastructure is aging, and $20 million will not stretch far if construction costs soar higher. Rapid action is urgent—a failure to adapt means downtown could slide further into stagnation. The next move reveals everything. Challenges and Opportunities in Downtown Spokane’s Transfo...