A coalition of downtown leaders commissioned by Mayor Muriel Bowser is recommending hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and a series of policy changes to revive the city’s struggling central business district.
The Downtown Action Plan, which Bowser unveiled Monday at downtown’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre, lays out a vision and a series of recommended steps for taking on some of the most pressing hurdles the area faces today.
Pedestrians crossing Connecticut Avenue in Downtown D.C. during the morning commute on Feb. 9, 2022.
With a proposed $401M investment over five years, the plan looks to expand the types of economic activity that occur downtown and draw a wider range of visitors. It calls for providing new tourist attraction corridors, drawing businesses and universities, focusing on public safety efforts and pressing forward on residential conversions in order to reimagine how downtown functions.
As part of its effort to spur housing development, the plan calls for studying possible changes to D.C.’s height limit in certain areas, which would need to be approved by Congress but could have major implications for property owners.
The investment recommendation is for fiscal years 2025 through 2029, beginning with $39M in the first year. The mayor is expected to release her formal budget proposal in the coming weeks for the D.C. Council to debate.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Emily Wishingrad over at Bisnow
