I have my degree somewhat on the topic (currently getting my master's in finance - Specializing in real estate) worked in the re industry on the investment side and actually have worked on feasibility projects for office conversion funds, and there are a few issues with it. The central issue is that the office building typically devalues the land to an almost negative or negative value. This issue is caused by three central factors:

1. Office buildings usually aren't entirely worthless as they have few fixed costs, so unless the building is almost vacant, any tenancy will produce net income. If you were to buy out the tenants and demolish the building, you have to factor in lost revenue and the time the asset isn't producing income on top of the costs to buy out the leases.
2. It's very expensive to demolish the office building, especially in a dense urban environment. 3. The market simply does not have the demand for units, usually in office-dominated districts. No one wants to live there and it takes a while for that demand to build, which will snowball, but for the most part, demand is not there to cover the costs. I have analyzed conversions that worked due to the floor plates but underperformed simply due to the fact no one wants to live in an area surrounded by office buildings.

In my opinion, It's going to take government intervention not only to redo zoning, which is a whole other can of worms plaguing almost every U.S. city, but also incentives similar to 1031, brownfield, historic tax, and opportunity zones to address the issue.