Today, Mattress Factory Lofts is a mixed-use complex, with approximately 125,000 sq. ft. in residential loft and creative commercial space. The original building structures date back to 1864. They used to house the Southern Spring Bedding Co.

Examples of hotels converted to apartment rentals include Chicago’s Pine Grove Manor and The Flamingo by Lake Michigan. Chicago is among the cities that saw the greatest number of hotel to multifamily conversions, along with Los Angeles and New York City, according to RentCafé.

These conversions really picked up the pace in the 1990s, increasing in number from 13 in the 1950s to 65 in the 1990s. Some of the advantages of repurposing old hotels into apartment rentals is the fact that hotel rooms could easily be turned into apartment units and the reception desk area could be used for the concierge.

Pine Grove Manor was a Victorian-era hotel converted to a modern day apartment building by BJB Properties. It now offers apartments ranging from studios to three bedrooms, with rents starting at $1,085 a month.

Office to apartment building conversions grew in popularity over the past decade. Baltimore, Md., Kansas City, Mo. and Cleveland, Oh. lead the U.S. in this type of conversions.

Some examples include The Plaza in Detroit and the Equitable Building in Baltimore, which was Baltimore’s first skyscraper and at the end of the 19th century the largest office property south of New York City. The former skyscraper turned apartment building now boasts a 2,000-sq.-ft. fitness center, a concierge, a residents’ lounge, dog park and free bicycle storage. The Plaza, originally Detroit’s Hammer & Nail Building, constructed in 1965, features 12 stories with 72 apartment units, including 50 one-bedrooms, 20 two-bedrooms, and two three-bedrooms.

Cities including Indianapolis and Louisville, Ky. have seen their old school buildings converted into apartment rentals. RentCafé notes that Kentucky has seven former school building that have been adapted for multifamily use. Examples of this type of conversion include St. Agnes in Indianapolis, Lourdes Hall in Kentucky and Alumni Lofts in Cincinnati, which in the early 1900s used to house the School for Creative and Performing Arts. The conversion incorporated the original school chalkboards, marble staircases and mosaic tile in the hallway into the apartment building.

St. Agnes has been converted from an original structure that was constructed in downtown Indianapolis in 1908. Today, the property offers studio and one-bedroom apartments from 375 sq. ft. to 1,100 sq. ft. in size. Rents start at $570 a month.

Minneapolis is among cities that has seen the highest number of warehouse to apartment building conversions, at six properties. (Overall, 27 buildings in Minneapolis have undergone conversions to multifamily use, creating 3,514 apartment units). Examples of these conversions include ElseWarehouse, a former warehouse turned apartment building.

The original facility was built in the early 1920s to serve the Scrivener-Andrews Warehouse Company. The building is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Amenities at the property include a fitness center, a six-story atrium with a skylight, a movie area and a library, among other features.

As mentioned earlier, repurposed healthcare buildings, including former hospitals, doctor’s clinics and dispensaries, tend to most frequently end up as affordable housing for those in the lower income bracket. About seventy-nine percent of such conversions have ended up as affordable housing, according to the report.

For example, Eastman Gardens in Rochester, N.Y., a former dental dispensary built in 1917, now serves as an affordable senior living apartment community. The property used to house the first school in the U.S. licensed to educate dental hygienists, including women. George Eastman built the property to address the community’s need for affordable dental care. In 1978, the school moved and the building, which also made it on the National Register of Historic Places, ended up sitting vacant for many years. Today, Eastman Gardens features 52 apartment rentals, ranging from studios to two-bedrooms. The property residents who are 55 years of age and older.

Around 64 former retail properties have been repurposed for residential use, and the report mentions that perhaps vacant retail space could give way to even more such conversions in the future. For example, mall vacancies are going up dramatically as retailers deal with the fallout from the pandemic, so apartment conversions from this type of building could become more common, reports The Real Deal. Around 50 percent of mall anchor stores might close by next year, leaving a lot empty space behind that could be repurposed for other uses. As an example, last year, Brookfield Properties partnered with AvalonBay Communities on a conversion that involved turning an old Sears store at Alderwood Mall, in the suburbs of Seattle, into 300 apartment units called the Avalon Alderwood Place. When the project opens, in 2022, it will still feature 90,000 sq. ft. of retail space.

Around 49 financial buildings, such as former banks, have been converted into apartment rentals in the United States.

For example, a former Italian embassy in Washington, D.C., built in 1925, the Modera Sidici was converted to multifamily use in 2018. The building now contains 112 rental apartments and 22 individually customized floor plans some of which have townhome-style layouts.

Former residential buildings are also being converted to more modern apartment rental use, according to the report. There are at least 24 such conversions around the country, making it the ninth most popular type of conversion.

The Ampeer Building, built in 1903 for then president of the Chicago Tribune Company, was redeveloped ino luxury-style apartments in 2017. The 36,000-sq.-ft. former mansion is located in the Dupont Circle area of Washington D.C. Along with being available for regular year-long leases, units in the building can also be leased out on a daily or month-to-month basis, according to the building's website. The mansion has 22 apartment units, with an additional "70 units in a newly built, connected glass building," according to Bisnow.

Old military buildings round out the list of most popular building types for multifamily conversion. A few examples include Grand Lowry Lofts in Denver, a former air force base built in 1937, and Copper Beech Commons in Syracuse, N.Y., a former armory building built in 1940.

Amenities at Grand Lowry Lofts include a playground area and landscaped gardens, a 24-hour fitness center and a dog run, among others. The complex features one- and two-bedroom units.