Underwrite the opportunity
We review sponsorship, property performance, business plan, and priorities before approaching the market.
Office Conversion financing
Office-to-Residential and Adaptive Reuse Conversion Financing
Quick answer: Office conversion loans provide construction and bridge financing for projects converting vacant or underperforming office buildings into residential, mixed-use, or alternative commercial uses. These 18 to 36-month facilities are structured for the complexity of adaptive reuse: phased draws, conversion cost reserves, and underwriting to post-conversion residential value rather than current office income. Minimum loan size is $2 million.
NationwideMarket coverage
1,000+Capital relationships
$2MM+CLS engagement floor
24 hoursInitial response
When it fits
When Office Conversion financing fits.
The U.S. office market carries over 1 billion square feet of vacant or chronically underutilized space, driven by the permanent shift to hybrid and remote work. Office-to-residential conversion has emerged as a top priority for urban planners, municipalities offering tax incentives, and real estate investors who can acquire Class B and C office at steep discounts to replacement cost and convert to residential at a significant value premium. Specialized debt funds and select banks with adaptive reuse experience are the primary construction capital sources for conversion projects. Lenders focus on post-conversion residential income, location fundamentals, floor-plate conversion feasibility, and sponsor execution track record.
Structure before pricing: leverage, recourse, reserves, prepayment, and closing certainty can matter as much as the headline coupon. We test those trade-offs before recommending a path.
01
Office-to-multifamily conversion projects in high-density urban locations
02
Class B and C office acquisitions at 40-70% discount for residential adaptive reuse
03
Municipalities offering tax abatements and incentives for office-to-residential conversion
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Mixed-use conversion: residential upper floors with ground-floor retail or amenity uses
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Office-to-hotel or short-term rental conversion in urban core locations
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Medical office conversion of obsolete suburban office near hospital campuses
Lender selection
How We Source Office Conversion Capital
We do not treat the lender list as a directory. We target the desks whose current appetite fits the asset, sponsorship, market, and business plan, then compare the full execution, not only the rate.
| Capital source | Where it may fit |
|---|---|
| Adaptive Reuse Debt Funds | Flexible capital for transitional, complex, leveraged, or time-sensitive executions where conventional credit boxes may not fit. |
| Private Lenders | Flexible capital for transitional, complex, leveraged, or time-sensitive executions where conventional credit boxes may not fit. |
| CDFI Lenders | Mission-oriented capital that may support eligible communities, sponsors, and projects outside conventional lender criteria. |
| Banks with Conversion Programs | Relationship-oriented capital that can offer local market knowledge and structural flexibility, with recourse often considered. |
| HUD 221(d)(4) for Affordable Conversion | Programmatic multifamily or housing capital with defined underwriting, documentation, and eligibility requirements. |
How we work
One process. Multiple capital sources.
We position the transaction, identify the lenders most likely to compete, and compare proposals on economics and execution risk, not just headline rate.
A well-structured financing process should create real choices for the borrower, not simply deliver the first term sheet.
Target the right lender desks
The transaction is matched to lenders whose current appetite fits the property, market, and structure.
Create a comparable field
Proposals are evaluated across rate, proceeds, recourse, reserves, prepayment, and closing certainty.
Manage execution through closing
We coordinate lender diligence, third-party reports, and issue resolution until the loan funds.
National reach
Market knowledge where the deal requires it.
We arrange office conversion financing nationwide while matching each transaction to capital sources active in that market and property type.
Atlanta, GABoston, MAChicago, ILDallas, TXDenver, COHouston, TXLos Angeles, CAMiami, FLNashville, TNNew York, NYPhoenix, AZSan Diego, CASan Francisco, CASeattle, WATampa, FL
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Questions
Office Conversion financing, clarified.
The final structure depends on the asset, sponsorship, and market. These are the starting parameters we discuss most often.
Working out equity? Our commercial property down payment guide covers typical requirements by loan type: 20% to 30% conventional, 10% for SBA owner occupied.
An office conversion loan funds the purchase and adaptive reuse of a vacant or underperforming office building into residential, mixed-use, or another commercial use. Terms run 18 to 36 months, interest-only, with funds released in phased construction draws. Sizing is based on post-conversion value and income, not on the building's current office rent roll. Minimum loan is $2 million.
Up to 80% of total conversion cost, which includes acquisition, hard costs, soft costs, contingency, and interest carry through completion and initial lease-up. Loan amounts reach $75 million and above. Sponsor equity typically goes in first, and most lenders require a completion guarantee from a creditworthy principal even when the loan is otherwise non-recourse.
Floor plate geometry decides most of it. Lenders and architects look for shallow depth from core to window wall, roughly 30 to 45 feet, so every unit gets light and air. Window operability, existing plumbing stack locations, floor-to-floor height, and residential zoning by right are the other gates. Deep 1980s suburban floor plates usually fail feasibility.
Conversion loans price from 8.00% to 13.00%, interest-only, with the spread set by entitlement status, the depth of the sponsor's adaptive reuse track record, and how much of the design work is complete at application. Underwriting takes longer than a straight bridge loan because the lender orders a plan and cost review before committing, so budget 45 to 60 days.
Many cities now offer tax abatements, expedited permitting, or density bonuses for conversions, and affordable component projects can reach HUD 221(d)(4) or CDFI capital at materially lower cost. Incentive programs change underwriting: the abatement schedule flows into post-conversion NOI, so document the approval before sizing the takeout. Commercial Lending Solutions arranges this financing across both conventional and incentive-backed structures.
Let's evaluate the right office conversion structure.
Share the property and financing request. We will respond within 24 hours with an initial view.