Opinion | Just look at why it’s so hard to turn offices into homes

Across America, once-busy downtowns are lifeless, studded with too many empty, outdated office towers. Reinventing urban cores will require converting these properties into new uses such as housing, schools or art centers — on a large scale. This year is on track to reach a record of nearly 100 office towers remade nationwide. But much more progress is needed.Most major cities have about 20 percent of their office space vacant and only about 2 percent currently undergoing a conversion, according to real estate firm CBRE. Cities need a conversion boom to help cut vacancy rates in half, a level that would stabilize property markets and re-create a feeling of pre-pandemic vibrancy. Right now, the challenges facing developers — financial and architectural — are too often prohibitive.An illustration of a typical office building.A schematic of a typical office building.Typically at least seven feetTypically at least seven feetTypically at least seven feetTypically at least seven feetTypical...