An initiative to turn vacant buildings into homes…

Across the country, buildings sit empty while people sleep without a safe place to call home. This disconnect is not a failure of resources, but of priorities.

The Adaptive Reuse Initiative activates a national effort to turn what already exists into what is urgently needed: safe, dignified housing paired with supportive services.

This initiative calls for the creation of 1,000,000 units of adaptive reuse housing over the next 10 years. By transforming vacant and underused buildings, communities can move faster, lower costs, and deliver real housing solutions to people who cannot afford to wait.

Communities nationwide are invited to stand in support of this initiative and advance adaptive reuse as a housing-first solution rooted in dignity, efficiency, and care.

Save the Date

  • March 18th – Join us for Lobby Advocacy Day in support of the State Adaptive Reuse and Sweat Equity Housing Act. Together, we will urge state representatives to recognize adaptive reuse as a vital housing solution and a critical step toward our shared mission of ending homelessness.
  • March 4th – Lobby Advocacy Day Orientation. To prepare for the big day, we hosted a virtual orientation. Watch Now

Lobby Day Resources & Posters

Download posters to support your advocacy and mobilize your event. We have everything you need to plan a powerful local event for Lobby Day!

What is Adaptive Reuse?

Adaptive reuse reimagines existing buildings for new purposes while preserving their structure and character. It is about possibility, not demolition.

A vacant hotel becomes permanent supportive housing. An old warehouse becomes apartments. A former school or office building becomes a community space. In the fight to end homelessness, adaptive reuse is powerful because it creates housing faster and at lower cost than new construction, while strengthening communities rather than displacing them.

Reimagining a Proven Housing Model for Today’s Vacant Buildings

A recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center titled “How States and Cities Decimated Americans’ Lowest-Cost Housing Option” revealed that Single-Room Occupancies (SROs), once the backbone of affordable housing in major U.S. cities, were systematically diminished through zoning changes and restrictive building codes beginning in the mid-20th century. What had been one of the nation’s most accessible housing options for the poorest residents, newcomers, and working-class families effectively disappeared from the housing landscape.

Historically, SROs provided modest micro-unit residences with shared facilities at rents far below standard apartments, serving as a critical safety net in urban centers like New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. In some cities, they once accounted for nearly 10 percent of rental housing. Over time, policy shifts and public opposition halted new SRO construction and led to the demolition or conversion of thousands of units into higher-cost uses.

The Pew study found that if SRO housing had expanded at rates comparable to other housing types since 1960, the United States would have about 2.5 million more affordable units today, enough to shelter many of the unhoused population several times over.

The Adaptive Reuse Initiative seeks to restore and modernize this proven housing model by transforming vacant hotels, office buildings, and underutilized properties into safe, low-cost micro-units with supportive services. By breathing new life into unused spaces, we can address the housing shortage at its root and reinstate a dignified, scalable solution that once grounded communities across America.

The report, “How A New Model of Office to Co-living Conversions Can Reduce Homelessness With Low-Cost Housing,” builds on this research by analyzing the relationship between housing supply, rent growth, and homelessness, and explores how office-to-co-living conversions can help restore low-cost housing options similar to SROs. Download the study to learn how adaptive reuse can transform vacant buildings into affordable homes and help reduce homelessness.

Download Now>>>

  • Median rent growth is low in jurisdictions that added proportionally more households than the U.S. overall from 2017–2021, such as Minneapolis, MN, and New Rochelle, NY.
  • The housing shortage disproportionately hurts low- and moderate-income households, with the lowest income quartile experiencing a 61.9% average rent change from September 2017 to September 2024, compared to 43.9% for the highest quartile.
  • Increases in supply have driven down rents, particularly in lower-cost apartments (Class C) in markets like Austin, Dallas, and Phoenix in 2023.
  • Homelessness is high where rents are high (e.g., San Francisco, New York City) and increased in areas where rents soared between 2017 and 2022. For example, Phoenix had a 144% rent growth and a 104% homelessness rate growth. Conversely, after zoning reform, Minneapolis saw a -12% change in homelessness from 2017-2022.

  • Office-to-co-living conversions are a model for reviving low-cost housing, similar to the historical Single-Room Occupancies (SROs).
  • This approach is more cost-effective than new builds or office-to-conventional apartment conversions. Construction costs are 25-35% lower per square foot than office-to-conventional apartments.
  • The cost per co-living unit is 2x-4x lower than a new build or office-to-conventional apartment. For instance, a co-living conversion cost in Los Angeles is estimated at $134,000, compared to $400,000 for a new-build studio.
  • Co-living units, typically around 150 square feet, centralize plumbing to reduce costs by avoiding kitchens and bathrooms in each unit.
  • In Denver, a co-living conversion requires only a $23,300 subsidy per unit, significantly less than the $300,000 subsidy required for a newly built studio.
  • With the same $10 million in subsidies, co-living conversions in Chicago could create 125 homes, compared to 35 for studios.
  • 40% of U.S. renter households and 86% of homeless households consist of only one person, making the micro-unit design relevant.

Endorse the Campaign

By signing on, your organization takes a stand for what is possible. You commit to helping create 1,000,000 units of adaptive reuse housing by 2032 and to advancing solutions that meet people where they are, with dignity and urgency.

The Bring America Home NOW campaign will support partners with toolkits, resources, and clear messaging to help raise awareness, mobilize communities, and drive meaningful change on the ground.

Now is the time to act. Whether you are a housing provider, advocate, architect, community leader, or concerned organization, your voice and leadership matter. There is a role for you in this movement.

Join us in advancing real solutions, honoring lived experience, and meeting this crisis with the urgency it deserves. Together, we can secure Housing NOW.

Act Now>>

Will you stand with us? Endorse the Adaptive Reuse Initiative to turn vacant buildings into homes and support the creation of 1,000,000 adaptive reuse housing units over the next 10 years.