Downtown Los Angeles is at a crossroads.
I’ve walked Downtown’s streets for years, feeling its pulse rise and fall with each economic cycle. Today, that pulse has slowed. Beloved restaurants have closed, ICE raids have left the Fashion District’s sidewalks quiet, and well before 5 p.m., office towers sit dark and empty.
The signs are everywhere, and the numbers confirm them. More than 32 percent of office space now sits vacant — well above the national average. Vacancy, however, is more than a statistic. Every empty desk means fewer customers buying lunch, running errands, or shopping after work. That loss of foot traffic chips away at property values, squeezes small businesses, and erodes the tax base just when Angelenos need more support for essential services and housing.
What if the solution is already in plain sight?
Downtown Works, the nonprofit arm of the Central City Association, partnered with Gensler, CBRE, and BAE Urban Economics on a study of Downtown’s near future. The findings are stark. If current trends continue, Downtown could lose up to $84 billion in economic value over the next decade. About $69.5 billion of that would come from declining office property valuations, and the City and County would forfeit $353 million in property tax revenue. Those losses would deepen budget shortfalls and weaken our ability to fund community priorities.
The report points to a proven remedy: adaptive reuse. Converting just ten underused office buildings into housing over the next ten years could reclaim $12 billion in assessed value, spark $2 billion in new economic activity, and generate $46 million in additional tax revenue. Those dollars could be deployed to strengthen city services and fund community priorities.
Beyond the financial benefits, adaptive reuse would support more than 1,600 jobs each year and create thousands of homes in neighborhoods that need them most. Over the past decade, Downtown has shifted from a nine-to-five business district into a vibrant residential community. New apartments fill quickly, fueling local cafes, shops, and community programs. In this evolving landscape, adaptive reuse is not just practical — it is essential to addressing Los Angeles’s growing housing crisis.
We know this strategy works. The 1999 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance generated more than 12,000 housing units, reviving once-empty lofts and streets. Those conversions expanded affordable housing options and advanced climate goals by repurposing existing buildings instead of building anew. Today’s challenge is more complex, but the playbook is familiar: modernize zoning and building codes, combine reforms with incentives like tax abatements and fee waivers, and unite public and private partners around a shared vision. With decisive leadership, we can replicate that success on an even greater scale.
Downtown is the engine of our city’s economy, generating more than one-third of Los Angeles’s hotel, parking, and business taxes on just one percent of its land. Allowing towers to sit empty weakens that engine and drains resources citywide. But acting now can transform dark skyscrapers into vibrant homes, bring people back to our streets, and restore confidence in Los Angeles’s future.
This is no abstract idea. By building on existing assets, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, and delivering urgently needed housing, we hold the path forward. With leadership from City Hall and real collaboration among developers, community groups, and businesses, we can transform empty towers into homes, jobs, and thriving neighborhoods.
Downtown stands at a crossroads: we can watch vacancy spread and decline deepen, or seize this rare opportunity to honor our history, strengthen neighborhoods, and secure a more equitable, sustainable Downtown for generations to come. The choice is ours.
Nella McOsker is president and CEO of Central City Association, which represents the interests of over 300 businesses, trade associations, and nonprofits from a broad range of industries.