FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The conversion of vacant offices can noticeably alleviate the housing shortage in major cities. Unused office space offers the potential for around 11,300 apartments in Germany's seven largest cities, according to new calculations by real estate specialist Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), which have been made available to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "Around one fifth of the current demand for apartments in the seven major cities could be met by converting offices," says Helge Scheunemann, research expert at JLL Germany. In some cities, a particularly high proportion of demand could be met, for example in Düsseldorf (57 percent), Stuttgart (51) and Frankfurt (34). There is a lot of office space suitable for conversion there, unlike in Berlin, for example.

The Federal Chamber of Architects is also calling for better use to be made of the opportunities offered by conversions. However, not all office locations are suitable as residential areas and the architectural hurdles are comparatively high.

According to JLL, conversions to apartments have played a comparatively minor role to date. One exception is Frankfurt, where the number of office conversions has more than doubled in the past 15 years. In Frankfurt, 1,200 residential units from office conversions are also planned over the next four years, says Scheunemann. "There are many spaces in old office towers here that are suitable for conversion into apartments, as their square floor plans offer natural light." But there is also untapped potential elsewhere. "The topic has gained momentum."

Offices in crisis, apartments in demand

With the trend towards working from home, many office spaces are empty and companies are shedding space. According to JLL, office vacancies in the seven major cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Koln, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf amounted to around 5.64 million square meters at the end of 2023, 2.68 million of which were outside sought-after A-locations, where re-letting is relatively easy.

On the other hand, there is a severe housing shortage in Germany. According to estimates by the German Property Federation (ZIA), there will be a shortage of 600,000 apartments this year, rising to 830,000 by 2027. Due to the rise in interest rates and construction costs, residential construction is in crisis. So why aren't more empty offices being converted into apartments?

"Office locations are not the same as residential locations," explains JLL expert Scheunemann. What is needed, for example, are connections to schools, local transport, kindergartens, stores and parks. In addition, rezoning is expensive and time-consuming due to increased construction costs. There are a number of architectural hurdles, such as ceiling height and suitable floor plans, says Scheunemann. A lack of light in large, deep areas is often a problem, as is the question of whether balconies can be attached to the façade.

Cost and environmental benefits - but many practical hurdles

On the other hand, there are a number of advantages: according to previous JLL figures, the costs of converting offices into residential space in major cities are around 50 percent lower than for new builds. In addition, the CO2 emissions from refurbishments are significantly lower - because the shell or building envelope is already in place. And new space is not needed either.

The German government also sees the potential. The "Commercial to residential" program is intended to subsidize the purchase and conversion of commercial buildings into apartments with 120 million euros. "We have a lot of empty offices these days, a lot of empty stores, and that is a good potential that can be tapped into without increasing the density of additional space," said Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) recently.

Andrea Gebhard, President of the Federal Chamber of Architects, warns in view of the crisis in residential construction that all potential should be exploited - be it adding storeys, densification or the conversion of offices, old factories or retail properties. "It's all about the mixed city, there are many approaches." Something is also happening among developers. "Some had plans for commercial properties and are now approaching us and want to convert parts of them into apartments."

Lack of incentives for owners

However, the architecture of offices is completely different from that of apartments, says Gebhard. "While offices are planned on a large scale, apartments are designed on a small scale." In the case of a conversion, separate entrances, sanitary facilities and ventilation systems would have to be created. As a general rule, the larger and deeper the floor area, the more difficult it is to let in light.

Some owners also lack the incentive to convert: "Office rents are on average significantly higher than residential rents, at least in good locations." And some companies won't give up their offices because they want to see more of their staff on site again.

It becomes particularly costly when entire business parks in the commuter belt need to be redesigned, says Gebhard. Life is unattractive in districts away from the centers and close to the freeway. "Living is home."/als/DP/mis