Picture yourself living in the famed Lipstick Building on Third Avenue in Manhattan, with killer views of the East River.

Workplaces in New York and other major cities are 20%-40% vacant following the pandemic—prompting landlords and local legislators to explore converting the glut of empty space into residential apartments, gyms, film sets and storage units.

New York Mayor Eric Adams, in fact, has just announced plans to build 500,000 affordable housing units over the next decade, including office building conversions. However, most of his plan centers around reducing red tape for developers to speed up construction by 50%.

New Yorkers welcome the idea, especially with the median rent in Manhattan now topping $4,000 a month.

However, the task of transforming a large office into deluxe apartments is complex due to building code requirements, let alone expensive, The New York Times reports.

“We need to test some of those things out,” says David Bergeron, EVP at real estate services company Savills, of commercial-to-residential transformations. “But I would argue 99 out of 100 of these experiments will fail.”

Nevertheless, in 2021, conversions of office towers into apartments or condos rose 43% nationwide, resulting in 11,900 new apartments—proving that it can be done, according to Yardi Systems, a real estate software firm.

Backlot, a TV and film location services firm in New York, has found multiple Manhattan offices perfect for shows like “Billions,” “Succession” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

Producers like the authenticity of the space, explains Darren Goldberg, managing partner and head of acquisitions for Backlot.

Another solution for unused office space is short-term leases, which San Francisco’s Codi specializes in.

As Codi CEO Christelle Rohaut explains, “The workplace is going through a massive shift, and companies more than ever value ease and speed and flexibility. The traditional office experience does not offer that.”