Three commercial-to-residential conversion projects have been conditionally awarded tax abatements, as D.C. pushes for new residential development and residents downtown.
Through the District’s Housing in Downtown program the conditional tax abatements will go to conversion projects at 1625 Massachusetts Ave. NW, 1825 and 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, and 615 H St. NW, Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday.
The 114,000-square-foot building project at 1625 Massachusetts Ave. promises to deliver 157 residential units, with at least 15 described as “affordable.” The 1.08 million-square-foot two-building project at 1825 and 1875 Connecticut Ave. will deliver 525 units, with at least 69 described as “affordable.” And the commercial row home and surface parking lot at 615 H St. will be redeveloped into 72 units, with at least eight described as “affordable.”
Conversion projects, such as these “are transforming old spaces into new uses — in this case, housing — that will bring more people and new vibrancy to our Downtown,” Bowser said.
Calling downtown “beautiful,” Bowser praised it as “a place that people like to visit, it is walkable and accessible by public transportation, and we’re excited about what it will mean for our entire city when we have more housing and more people living Downtown.”
The District’s Housing in Downtown program, which is capped at $41 million, is offering commercial-to-residential conversions a 20-year tax abatement, according to Bowser’s office.
Her office said it estimates the investment “can help deliver 6.7 million square feet of new residential use, or 8,400 new housing units, which will support the DC Comeback Plan’s overall goal of adding 15,000 new residents Downtown.”
Projects participating in the program are required to “make at least 10% of units affordable at 60% of the Median Family Income (MFI), or 18% of units affordable at 80% MFI,” her office said.
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