For years, economic growth and tax revenues in our region benefited from a strong density of commercial centers and corporate headquarters. But post-Covid, historically high commercial vacancy rates in Washington, D.C., and around our region are reaching crisis levels.
It is time to pay attention not just to the potential losses for banks and investors that come from historically high vacancy rates, but what this means for our economic prospects and how to pay for the services that help make our region a desirable place to live.
Any economist will tell you that economic growth occurs where you have increasing density of economic activity — where the concentration of transactions in a small place creates ancillary or multiplier effects. Density is effectively a prerequisite to sustained growth. That creates a problem for economic growth or revenue plans when density decreases.
We see clearly now that a combination of higher interest rates, declining office utilization and permanent…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
