The US has an empty office building problem. Here's what landlords are doing about it

Commercial real estate is facing major pressure as vacancy rates grow across the US. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich reports on how companies and landlords are being forced to get creative as spaces sit empty.
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[BG-fmod]

And yet we have a lack of affordable housing. SMH

[joshbarker]

Why pay for an incredibly expensive office when your entire workforce is remote? Sounds like they should convert them into apartments and condos. Lord knows we need tons of those.

[catherinewilliams]

I will be so pissed if the government is asked to bail out commercial landlords.

[CellaDragon]

This is the REAL reason big companies are trying to demand people “work from the office” even if their job can be done 100% from home

[tiffsaver]

My job takes me to every major city in the USA, and believe me, this problem is happening all over America. I just read the headlines in Atlanta yesterday, and 25-30% of all their office space is empty, just like in NYC, just like in San Francisco. This is the collapse of commercial real estate, everywhere. It's shocking.

[leeannweller]

I cannot believe they want us to feel sorry for LANDLORDS 😮

[aleksandarm]

Poor landlords. My heart goes out to people who rode the gravy train for years and now have a small dent in their astronomical earnings.

[screenarts]

They'll never think of lowering the rent. They'd rather let them sit empty.

[amandaj.barnes]

The banks have got rid of their office and gone online. Buildings in the London banking district turned it into apartments. Be creative.

[cooreyfeldman]

Turn all the empty office spaces into apartments… there is a shortage of housing. Using the offices for 1 or 2 scenes in a tv show won’t boost its valuation

[abaque]

Thats not a problem— failed investments are failed investments.

[relentlessslog]

Yep, and I'm sure everyone's mental health has improved as a result of not having to spend a majority of their lives in a cubicle.

[relaxgood]

It’s no problem at all for those who do not own an office building.

[jhmcd]

Honestly, I wish you would do the opposite side of this story. You are so quick to take the land lords side you forget about buisnesses. Prior the the pandemic i was going into a daycare with a few people but we couldnt find a space that was south of a million dollars. We ended up not being able to do it. Then just a few days ago, a popular restaurant in my area, a Olive Garden, which had been next to a dying and dead mall, which was known for hour long waits for both tables and take out, which felw through the pandemic with flying colors shut down because, now that the mall was converted into outdoor retail, they raised the rates. Part of the problem with commercial real estate is the commercial realtors. With sky high rates and an unwillingness to negotiate and let buildings sit emtpy often for decades at a time, they end up blighting neighborhoods and driving out businesses. So dont vlame this on telework, this was a long time coming.

[johncenter]

Only 19% vacancy! If your employer forces you to go to these inhumane offices where you can't take a dump in peace, please quit and join the happy remote workers. Let's try to make it 80% vacancy.

[deborahfreedman]

Gee, the pandemic made people realize how stupid it is wasting time commuting, when most work is more productive at home. No more trying to concentrate and debug code while the drone next to your cubical has loud phone conversations. No more creepy boss hitting on you. Less time sitting in traffic. More time at home with those you love. The only people who miss going into the office are the mid-level managers, who do nothing but waste your time in meetings, that they constantly call to justify their salary. Cutting out the middle managers, and only driving into work once a week will save the company money, and stop wasting your time. So, the fat cats with expensive office real estate are hurting. Better them, than the people who actually create and produce.

[herbtapp]

The US government has a problem with rental spaces not being used? Sounds like a landlord or investor problem. How about they lower prices 20-35%? You know that supply- demand thing in capitalist business models.

[angryox]

Am I supposed to feel sorry for commercial landlords? Because I absolutely don’t feel sorry for the commercial landlords.

[jessicam]

This is genuinely so fantastic. The limited supply of housing, and also real estate for universities have been huge problems for decades. It’s time to fix that. Even if (especially if) the landlords lose huge in the deal.

[amandaj.barnes]

Less than 1% is turned in to apartments disgusting when you have so many people homeless.