FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Zoe Ades, Communications Director
COUNCILMEMBER PINTO INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO CREATE A VIBRANT, SAFE, AND RESILIENT DOWNTOWN
Today, Councilmember Brooke Pinto introduced legislation which serves as a comprehensive plan for Downtown recovery and a blueprint for creating a dynamic, mixed-use city center. The Rediscover Equitable Central Occupancy Vitality and Encourage Resilient Yield (RECOVERY) Act outlines a strategy to incentivize conversions of vacant office buildings to residential and mixed-use development, encourage businesses to provide their employees with accessible childcare, and promote public safety in our business corridors. Councilmember Pinto introduced a previous version of this legislation in 2021.
Three years out from the beginning of the pandemic, it is clear that pre-pandemic reality is not returning. The loss of in-person work has taken a toll on Downtown leaving millions of square feet of vacant office space and record-high retail vacancy rates. Not only are these vacant units a missed opportunity as we experience an affordable housing crisis, but they represent lost tax revenue in a time when our CFO is warning we are facing a risky financial situation. The Recovery Act leads a multi-pronged strategy to reimagining Downtown as a mixed-use destination for residents and visitors, promoting an equitable return to the office, and ensuring public safety in business corridors.
“Downtown is the economic engine of DC and rebuilding a thriving Downtown will benefit our entire city. The RECOVERY Act will make our city center a dynamic destination for residents and visitors,” said Councilmember Pinto. “With our city facing concerning revenue estimates, one of our top priorities must be ensuring a strong tax base in our city center. It is not realistic to simply hope for a return to pre-pandemic office trends; instead, we must look to the future and catalyze other more productive uses of spaces Downtown by making it a residential and mixed-use area and this legislation outlines an actionable and practical pathway to getting there.”
The RECOVERY Act:
- Incentivizes conversions of vacant office spaces into dynamic mixed-use development by expanding the existing Tax Abatements for Housing in Downtown program and increasing the annual caps on the existing Tax Abatements for Housing in Downtown program to $5 million. In addition, the bill provides tax relief for redevelopment that leads to conversions for hotels, retail, restaurants, and sports, entertainment, and culture sector establishments to make downtown an attractive home for future residents and encourage more activity downtown.
- Provides funding to grow our Innovation District to facilitate growth in STEM fields by expanding DMPED’s authority (DMPED Limited Grant-Making Authority Act of 2012) to make grants for the growth and improvement of the innovation district at $4M annually for each FY from 2024 through 2028.
- Promotes employer-provided child care to support an equitable return to in-person work
- Supports relocation of businesses in our Central Business District by establishing a new RECOVERY Retail Grant Program, which authorizes the Mayor to issue a 2-year grant for businesses to open or expand in retail or commercial space that has been vacant for at least six months prior to applying.
- Creates a flexible avenue to increase public safety patrols of business corridors and other safety measures by establishing a new Safe Commercial Corridors Grant Program.
The legislation is co-introduced by At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson.
