In the fall of 2019, the Peace Corps moved out of its Northwest D.C. headquarters. At the time, plans were underway to make the space at 20th and L streets a nice office space.
But as it became clear that the pandemic would change work and commuting patterns, those plans were changed to make it a residential complex, according to Leona Agouridis, president of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District.
On Monday morning, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser toured a one-bedroom apartment at what’s now called the Elle Apartments. The project broke ground in 2022 and will include 163 residential units.
Willco, a development firm, is leading the project.
The new apartment building is part of Bowser’s broader plan to add 15,000 residents downtown by 2028. Currently, 87% of downtown spaces are for commercial use, with the rest being used for residential complexes.
Bowser said she wants downtown D.C. to be closer to 30% residential. Part of that is made possible by transforming spaces. The city leads the country in office-to-residential conversions.
The Elle Apartments will be the first conversion “in the downtown in its entirety to come online. That is a really big deal,” Bowser said.
She added more residents “means we’ll have more community spaces and civic spaces integrated into the downtown, along with great neighborhood-serving retail.”
There are 11 similar projects in the city’s pipeline, Bowser said, in addition to five under construction.
Gary Cohen, president and chairman of Willco, said the property was desirable to be converted because of its infrastructure. Plus, the neighborhood, near West End, Foggy Bottom and DuPont Circle, was ideal, Cohen said.
The property will feature a rooftop pool, outdoor terrace with grills, coworking spaces, a dog park and a pet spa. Cohen hopes to attract a restaurant to anchor the building’s retail space.
“History has always proven that people want to live, work and play in cities,” Cohen said.
Asked how the apartment complex could be made more affordable for future residents, Bowser said the city has various programs available, but “every development is not going to have every program. And so we have to invest across a spectrum of programs in order to develop in the way that we want.”
To help achieve the city’s goal of drawing new residents downtown, Bowser launched a Housing in Downtown program “designed to catalyze new residential development and add thousands of new residents downtown through a 20-year tax abatement,” according to a news release.
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