D.C.’s mayor is taking a step forward in reclaiming some of the empty office space downtown by appointing a new director to lead the Department of Buildings, who is also an architect.
With the majority of downtown offices indicating no plans to return to full-time work in person, the city is reclaiming commercial space. Mayor Muriel Bowser has hired an architect to handle the job.
“We’re adding people to our downtown, and that’s where we need incentives, and because we have a downtown that’s 90% commercial, that’s not the case in any other ward in the District of Columbia,” said Bowser in a news conference on Monday.
Bowser announced Brian Hanlon will lead the Department of Buildings.
“You take an office building, which wasn’t designed to be residential, there are clearly architectural challenges, those lead to economic challenges that needs to get figured out. I’m looking forward to collaborating with the design and construction community to figure out how to do that in a way that makes sense and allows the plan to unfold.”
Hanlon is returning to D.C. government after nearly a decade in the private sector. He last served in 2015, leading the Department of General Services.
