Hartford’s Office-to-Residential Conversions Expose the Limits of Adaptive Reuse

Written by:

Rudi Davis

Date:

18 Feb 2026

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Hartford’s effort to convert vacant office buildings into housing reveals the limits of adaptive reuse as a large-scale solution. The city’s experience shows the idea is appealing, but execution challenges often make broad policy goals unworkable.

David Steuber, Executive Director of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), says the main obstacle is that each building brings its own set of challenges. “Conversion projects are tricky because you’re taking an older building and reconfiguring it to a new use,” Steuber explains. “There are always challenges that come up relative to each building.”

Repurposing many offices at once may seem feasible in theory, but it rarely plays out as planned. “When you’re looking at this as a public policy matter and trying to shift an entire category of units at a broad level within a marketplace, it’s hard to plan around what you’re really in for until you get down to individual projects,” Steuber says.

The Floor Plate Challenge

One major barrier is the floor plate, the size and shape of each floor, which determines whether a building can be efficiently converted into apartments. Steuber notes that many office buildings have layouts that make residential adaptation prohibitively expensive or technically unworkable. “A lot of that’s down to the floor plate configuration of individual structures,” he says. “Many buildings simply cannot be economically adapted to residential use without extensive structural modifications.”

As a result, Hartford no longer uses blanket conversion strategies and now relies on building-by-building assessments. “We’re continuing to sharpen our pencils on assessing the existing marketplace, taking stock of our existing office buildings, trying to determine which ones are convertible and which aren’t,” Steuber says. “A lot aren’t.”

This careful approach is necessary because the financial risks are high. Steuber emphasizes the need for robust contingencies in public assistance budgets. “You need to have contingencies as you try to shape a budget around what kind of public assistance might be required to catalyze that kind of development,” he says.

Hartford’s Methodical Conversion Efforts

Despite these hurdles, the CRDA has completed several conversions. One recent project was a $63 million renovation of a former state office building that housed the Attorney General’s office and other agencies. The CRDA provided a $13.5 million loan for the project, resulting in 164 new residential units.

The authority also has other properties under construction nearby and is considering a new build on an adjacent parcel. These projects are near Bushnell Park, the city’s oldest park and a central gathering place.

Even after years of working on conversions, the CRDA is still refining its understanding of which buildings can be adapted. Steuber notes that the authority is “continuing to deepen our understanding and knowledge of the landscape here in Hartford so we can identify priorities and then opportunities against those priorities.” This ongoing learning process shows how unpredictable office conversions remain, even for experienced teams.

Lessons for Broader Policy

Hartford’s experience suggests large-scale conversion policies may promise more than they can deliver. Steuber’s observations suggest successful efforts require accepting lower volumes and focusing on buildings with real conversion potential.

This stands in contrast to some cities that announce aggressive conversion targets based on total vacant office space, without accounting for the technical and financial obstacles that arise at the building level. Cities that ignore these details risk wasting resources and failing to meet housing goals.

The Hartford model points to a cautious, targeted approach. Cities should focus on detailed analysis and realistic expectations instead of sweeping mandates. As more cities face office vacancies and housing shortages, those using building-specific strategies may deliver better results. Others may find broad promises fall short in practice.