Vacant Offices in Minneapolis to Transform into Affordable Co-Living Spaces

A new initiative proposes converting empty office buildings into single-room occupancy units to address housing shortages and high vacancy rates.

The Pew Charitable Trusts and Gensler have developed a plan to convert office buildings in cities like Minneapolis into co-living spaces.
These conversions aim to create affordable housing options by offering dorm-style micro-apartments with shared amenities.
The initiative targets cities with high office vacancy rates and housing shortages, including Denver and Seattle, alongside Minneapolis.
The conversion model reduces construction costs by up to 35%, potentially quadrupling the number of affordable units for the same subsidy.
This approach seeks to address homelessness and the lack of affordable housing, with support from local governments and changing zoning laws.