City officials in Boise, Idaho, are in the process of reviewing a plan to buy a small office building on the western edge of the downtown area and convert it into long-term affordable housing part of a push by the city to create below-market housing as rental prices have continued to climb throughout the pandemic. The plan, which was recently approved by the city council, as BoiseDev reported, is to purchase the building for around $800,000, and place it in the city’s affordable housing land trust. From there, the city would partner with a developer to adapt the building into a dozen or more reduced-rate apartment units. The project comes as more cities around the country are looking into the possibility of converting unused office space into affordable housing. But it’s one of several acquisitions the city is pursuing this year, and not all focused on office space, says Leon Letson, the manager for Boise’s Grow Our Housing program.