Turning office space into living space

Many of us have felt like we live at the office, and soon, that might become literal.

A severe shortage of housing combined with an excess of office space has created a potentially unique opportunity for developers seeking to convert commercial properties into living spaces. And some want to speed up the process — in California, where some areas saw commercial vacancies of 25 percent or higher, lawmakers proposed turning office space into housing.

It’s certainly not the first time such ideas have surfaced. Developers have turned mills into condos and revived sprawling shopping malls. Yet those are pricey projects that typically take years — and miles of red tape — to accomplish. Office buildings often have code issues to address and layout challenges.

Still, necessity is the mother of invention, and developers from New York to San Diego are already on the move, snatching up commercial spaces and detailing their plans to local officials. In a time when traditional residential costs are high and new construction expensive, retrofitting might be the perfect creative solution.