The equivalent of one out of five office buildings is vacant in Dallas and property owners see conversion to residential as a way to shift for changing demand.
Some workers have been called back to the office but demand for office space is still much lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
One example of the conversion opportunity is the bright new luxury rental home with three bedrooms, new bathrooms and a nice kitchen in what used to be a corner office on the 18th floor of a downtown Dallas high-rise owned by Pacific Elm Properties.
Conversion of old office buildings has been underway for years in Dallas. At one time, Dallas led the nation with 40 vacant old buildings. The largest was the former First National Bank Building, once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River.
Now called The National, it has a first-class hotel, apartments, restaurants from fast food to gourmet along with offices, including the headquarters for Downtown Dallas INC, the central business district booster group.
The past conversions have helped grow the downtown population to around 15,000 people who support businesses 7 days a week. The change now is conversion of space in the big 1980’s skyscrapers that had been filled with office tenants in the past.
