District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser has a plan to convert empty office spaces into other facilities as numerous buildings remain vacant after many workers went remote during the pandemic.
Empty office buildings have been a problem in Washington after many workers stayed home even after the pandemic ended, harming downtown businesses. Bowser has been pushing for vacant buildings to be converted for other uses, and on Wednesday, the mayor announced the launch of the “Office to Anything” program. The program would offer a 15-year property tax freeze for offices that redevelop into “new retail spaces, hotels, world-class office space, restaurants, and other non-residential uses.”
“We know that having a balanced mix of uses helps make our neighborhoods, including our downtown, more dynamic,” Bowser said in a statement. “Through Office to Anything, we will transform vacant and underutilized offices into new, productive uses that increase foot traffic, generate economic activity and tax revenue, and bring new vibrancy to D.C.’s commercial core.”
The mayor’s office hopes the initiative will support converting 2 million to 2.5 million square feet of vacant office space.
The program is the latest effort by the district to incentivize the conversion of vacant office space into new developments to boost business in the city. Another program is aimed at converting office space into housing through a 20-year tax abatement.
The first office building converted to residential space opened last year, a building downtown that used to serve as an office building for Treasury Department employees.
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While district officials have been keen on converting vacant office space, they also hope for more federal employees to be moved back to in-person work to help support the city’s economy and transit system.
Bowser’s administration has been one of the leading voices in wanting federal employees to return to in-office work, something President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration has also made a priority. The mayor told Congress last year the district was prepared for federal workers to return to in-office work.