D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has opened up the application window for a new program aimed at revitalizing obsolete offices in or near downtown, offering developers a 15-year property tax freeze to convert their properties largely to nonresidential uses.
The program, dubbed “Office to Anything,” could create up to 2.5 million square feet in repositioned property, according to Bowser, who shared details Monday evening with members of the Business Journal’s Power 100 list of influential area leaders.
The effort is in addition to — and really a response to — a separate incentive geared toward converting downtown offices to apartments. Both programs are designed to diversify downtown real estate, which weighs in at about 90% commercial.
“Operators were saying, ‘Well, what about us? We don’t want to do housing. We think that we have a different and better idea for a particular building. Can you work with us?’ So, that’s what Office to Anything is about,” Bowser said.
Office to Anything means just that: entertainment, hotel, retail and beyond. The incentive could also be used to renovate outdated offices into trophy space, a segment of D.C.’s office market that faces high demand but low supply.
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