Business · Economy · 54 mins ago
Paris plans to turn up to a fifth of La Défense offices into homes
Paris La Défense plans to turn up to a fifth of its offices into housing in the business district west of the French capital.
French real estate company Groupama Immobilier plans to convert Le Diamant, a nine-storey office building where 1,800 people work, into apartments.
Falling demand for office space since the pandemic and the growth of homeworking have left more offices available.
Conversions are also under way in cities including Washington DC, New York and London, where tax cuts or easier planning rules have helped projects move ahead.
Office buildings can be difficult to turn into homes because their inner areas may lack natural light, and apartments need more plumbing while some ceilings are low.
La Défense hopes to add housing as office demand declines, but the scale of the plans depends in part on how France handles taxes and rules for conversions.
Groupama’s project is expected to be one of the first in the area, and its deputy CEO hopes French authorities will ease those barriers.
Paris La Défense has unveiled plans to turn up to a fifth of its office buildings into housing.
The plans come as demand for office space has fallen since the Covid-19 pandemic and the growth of homeworking.
Groupama Immobilier intends to convert the nine-storey Le Diamant office building into apartments.
The conversion faces challenges including windowless space in the middle of floors, the need for more plumbing and low ceilings.
- Who
- Paris La Défense, the public development authority that runs the area, has unveiled the plans. Groupama Immobilier plans to convert Le Diamant.
- What
- Up to a fifth of La Défense’s office buildings could be turned into housing.
- When
- The plans were unveiled by the time of the BBC article, published on 12 November 2026. A specific date for the announcement is not stated.
- Where
- La Défense, the business district west of Paris.
- Why
- Demand for offices has fallen since the Covid-19 pandemic and the growth of homeworking.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Demand for office space in La Défense and across Paris has fallen as homeworking has grown.
Paris La Défense had unveiled plans to turn up to a fifth of its office buildings into housing.
- Share of offices
- Up to a fifth
- Building
- Le Diamant, a nine-storey office building
- Current workplace
- 1,800 people work in Le Diamant
- Planned conversion
- Groupama Immobilier intends to turn the entire building into apartments
What people are saying
There won't be any rooms there. Just access,
We set a goal of introducing 15,000 new residents downtown by 2028 and we are now on track to doing that,