The apartment business center was built for a renter who no longer exists: someone without a computer at home who needed a shared desktop and a printer. That renter left the market years ago, but the room is still on thousands of rent rolls. The short answer is no, the business center as built is not relevant anymore, and listing data now shows it actively working against properties that advertise it.
The listing data is unambiguous
In 2024, Zillow analyzed 5.6 million U.S. rental listings and found that properties promoting a "business center" received 24% fewer saves and 27% fewer shares per day. Listings highlighting "coworking spaces" saw the opposite: 16% more saves and 23% more shares.
The same square footage, described two different ways, moves prospect behavior in opposite directions. "Business center" reads as a dated property, the amenity equivalent of a fax line. That is not a branding nuance. Saves and shares are top-of-funnel lease velocity, and the phrase is measurably suppressing it.
The infrastructure story explains why. According to the NMHC/Grace Hill 2024 Renter Preferences Survey, 86% of renters rate high-speed internet as very important or absolutely essential. Every renter carries a better computer than the shared desktop in the business center. The original problem the room solved is gone.
The demand it served didn't disappear. It changed shape
Here is the part that keeps the conversation interesting for owners: the underlying need for work-capable common space is larger than it has ever been. The same NMHC survey found 52% of renters work remotely at least part of the time, with 39% of those working from home several days a week and 31% every day. And 73% expect their remote-work frequency to hold steady going forward.
Renter interest in shared workspaces grew from 35% to 48% between the 2022 and 2024 editions of the survey, one of the biggest jumps of any amenity. Amenity provider WithMe reports that 75% of residents say access to coworking space directly influences their renewal decision, and 28% use shared spaces for work either exclusively or alongside their apartment.
Residents do not want a computer room. They want somewhere to work that is not their kitchen table. That means real desks, task seating, bookable privacy for calls, strong Wi-Fi, and enough outlets. The shared desktop and the dusty printer are not on the list.
The real question is what the room becomes
For most properties this is not a build decision, it is a conversion decision. The business center is usually a well-located, wired, climate-controlled interior room, which makes it one of the cheapest amenity conversions in the building. The candidates worth evaluating:
| Conversion | Serves | Signal from the data |
|---|---|---|
| Coworking / focus rooms | Remote and hybrid workers | 48% renter interest, 16% more listing saves |
| Gaming lounge | Social and evening use | Daytime work demand and evening social demand can share infrastructure |
| Hybrid work-by-day, play-by-night | Both | Highest utilization per square foot across the full day |
The hybrid model deserves particular attention. Work demand peaks 9 to 5. Social and gaming demand peaks evenings and weekends. A room that only works during business hours is idle for the majority of the week, and idle square footage is the actual problem the business center created in the first place. The wiring, furniture-grade internet, and interior location that make a good coworking room are the same bones a gaming lounge needs.
What to do with this
If a property still lists a business center, two moves are worth making this quarter. First, the cheap one: stop calling it a business center in listings, because the phrase alone is costing saves and shares. Second, the real one: track who actually uses the room for a month, then program the conversion around full-day utilization rather than a one-to-one replacement. The room is rarely the issue. The 2009 assumptions inside it are.