The vacancy rate in Downtown office buildings has hit its lowest point since the 1980s, according to the 2005 Casden Office and Industrial Market Forecast. While those rates may be a result of more leases being signed, Dr. Delores Conway, director of the Casden Forecast, said that adaptive reuse is also having an impact. "Some of the office space is being taken off the market," said Conway, referring to the number of aging properties being converted into apartments and condominiums. "The real estate market is shifting Downtown; it's becoming more of a residential area, where it used it to be heavily industrial and office."
