CIM Group wants to pivot a previously proposed office tower in Oakland to residential use, eyeing 596 units across 46 stories on 22nd Street near Lake Merritt.

CIM submitted a proposal for the project, which would be the tallest building in the city if it is built as planned, according to the East Bay Times.

In 2017, CIM proposed an office tower at the same site, according to the East Bay Times.

The proposed apartment development would allocate 25 units for affordable housing and include ground-floor retail.

According to a report from Transwestern, the East Bay multifamily market remained strong in the third quarter despite some slowing as macroeconomic challenges settle in. Oakland and Berkeley have a 6.7% vacancy rate, with an effective rent of $2,924 per unit.

It is a complicated time for multifamily properties across the country, as rising interest rates make building or buying properties more difficult and expensive. Those same high rates keep would-be homebuyers in the renter category.

Still, the long-term outlook for multifamily is stronger than office, which continues to struggle with low occupancy in the wake of the remote work trend.

In the tech-heavy Bay Area, office usage has lagged and layoffs are becoming more common, suggesting even less office attendance in the near term.