Many people who are currently working from home may have the option to continue doing so long term, which makes for an increased supply of commercial and residential real estate in the metro area. Developers are beginning to shift gears and turn these spaces into residential units, and while that won’t address the low supply of single-family homes in Denver, it does offer more people an opportunity to live the downtown experience more affordably.

One example is the former Colorado Art Institute at 12th and Lincoln Streets, which is being repurposed as a 10-story building that will house 194 studio apartments. The units are small — 300 square feet on average — and will rent for $1,200 to $1,500 a month, depending on the rental market once the project is complete by the end of 2022.

Another is the building at 955 Bannock Street, which was initially supposed to be office space. Developers there submitted changes to City Hall, and it will now become a 12-story apartment building.

Unlike single-family homes in the suburbs, the inventory of downtown office space in Denver is plentiful. The vacancy rate was 12% in the first quarter of 2020, according to CoStar, which tracks commercial real estate information worldwide. In the second quarter of 2020 it was 13.4%, then it jumped to 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, followed by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. By the first quarter of 2021, the vacancy rate had risen to 16.9%.

Pivoting to turn commercial space into homes doesn’t appear to be just a downtown thing, either. In Cherry Creek North, a site at 3250 E. Second Ave. was slated to be a five-story office project. In April, developers submitted new plans to make it a five-story high rise filled with 22 housing units.

Small space living might not be for everyone, but if you’re looking to be downtown or closer to the downtown area, this may be a great option. Contact Metrowest today – we’d love to show you around