> Perhaps if that happened it would both raise demand for non-residential space (more people living nearby) and lower supply of commercial prop avail. Yup, tha

> Perhaps if that happened it would both raise demand for non-residential space (more people living nearby) and lower supply of commercial prop avail. Yup, that's what economics does: the firms with the lowest cost to converting, do so. And it's a nice follow-on effect that more residential hopefully increases commercial demand. This is mostly a factor where you have a big inventory of older commercial buildings. Advances in HVAC (and before that, lighting) have let you build bigger floors that are less desirable for residential use.