In The NoCo

Converting high-rise office space to dorm style living could ease Denver’s housing crunch. Here’s how

By In The NoCo,

Published April 10, 2025 at 5:35 AM MDT

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The Rocky Mountains are seen behind the Denver skyline in 2016. Denver's skyscrapers have seen their office spaces emptied in recent years. But a new study offers a housing solution that would fill empty high rises with living spaces. — The Rocky Mountains are seen behind the Denver skyline in 2016. Denver's skyscrapers have seen their office spaces emptied in recent years. But a new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts proposes a housing solution that would fill empty high rises with small living spaces.

Researchers have proposed a plan to transform empty high-rise office spaces into living spaces to reduce the housing shortage in the Denver metro area. Denver is one of many American cities with a tight housing market and a glut of unused office space.

A recent study by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the architecture firm Gensler calls for converting high rise offices to shared residential spaces similar to a college dorm. Tenants would share kitchens, bathrooms and workspaces with people in neighboring units.

And some real estate developers also see opportunity. Earlier this week, a development company announced it purchased two office buildings in downtown Denver in hopes of converting them into affordable housing.

Alex Horowitz is the Project Director of Housing and Project Initiatives at Pew Charitable Trusts who oversaw the study.

He spoke with In The NoCo’s Brad Turner last November about why he thinks these low-cost, dorm-style units in skyscrapers could help cities where attainable housing is hard to find – and could even dramatically reduce the rate of homelessness in the U.S.

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In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC’s new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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