Developers Convert Vacant Overland Park Offices Into Apartments

A developer in Overland Park has begun converting a largely vacant suburban office park into hundreds of apartments, a bet that reflects both a soft office market and persistent demand for housing in Johnson County.

The project will gut aging office buildings and rebuild them as residential units, with ground-floor retail and shared amenities. Office vacancy across the metro has stayed elevated as remote and hybrid work reshaped demand, leaving some properties with few tenants.

"These buildings were not going to fill back up as offices. Housing is where the demand is," the developer said. City officials have generally welcomed such conversions as a way to add housing without expanding the suburban footprint.

Not every office building is a good candidate for conversion, architects caution, because deep floor plates and limited plumbing can make residential retrofits expensive.