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Can SF’s Empty Offices Be Housing? 

Two developers explain what it'll take to turn San Francisco's empty offices into apartments.
Ericka Cruz GuevarraGabriela Glueck
Marc Babsin (left) and Jack Sylvan (right) pose for a portrait inside 150 Hayes Street, an office building they will be converting to housing, in San Francisco’s Civic Center on Oct. 9, 2026. (Nina Glick)

After hollowing out during the pandemic, San Francisco’s office vacancy rate is hovering at around 30%. Pair that volume of empty space with an escalating housing crisis, and it’s enough to make you wonder: Could you turn those empty offices into apartments? Today, we talk with two developers about what it actually takes to make these conversion projects a reality.

150 Hayes Street, an office building which will be converted to housing, in San Francisco’s Civic Center on Oct. 9, 2026.
Cubicles inside 150 Hayes Street, an office building that will be converted to housing, in San Francisco’s Civic Center on Oct. 9, 2026.
Cubicles inside 150 Hayes Street, an office building that will be converted to housing, in San Francisco’s Civic Center on Oct. 9, 2026.
Moving boxes inside 150 Hayes Street, an office building that will be converted to housing, in San Francisco’s Civic Center on Oct. 9, 2026.
The view of San Francisco City Hall from inside 150 Hayes Street, an office building that will be converted to housing, in San Francisco’s Civic Center on Oct. 9, 2026.

Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.

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