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D.C. As downtown D.C. seeks rebound, empty offices, fear of crime cast shadow
D.C.
As downtown D.C. seeks rebound, empty offices, fear of crime cast shadow
By Paul Schwartzman
March 15, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
An unhoused person sleeps on 18th Street NW in downtown D.C. on Feb. 29, next to a vacant restaurant space. (Jonathan Newton for The Washington Post)
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Gary Cohen knows it may seem absurd to think people would move to a neighborhood dominated by offices that are often more empty than occupied. But hear him out: Downtown Washington — still reeling from the ravages of the pandemic — could be a cool place to live. ... No, seriously.
“We just need to give them a reason,” the developer said as he walked through an office building he’s turning into a 10-story apartment house at the corner of 20th and L streets NW. His reasons include sleek apartments, an outdoor swimming pool, a communal terrace, a health club, a yoga studio, a pet spa and a ninth-floor, AstroTurf-lined dog run.
Cohen is less certain about the vacant 8,000-square-foot storefront on the ground floor. For the past year, he has sought a buzzworthy restaurant to lease the space for $33,000 a month. One deal fell through. Another may be coming together. His search, he worries, has been made more difficult by persistent reports of crime, vacant offices and A-list companies seeking to leave downtown. “That’s what keeps me up at night,” he said.
Developer Gary Cohen, left, who is converting an office building at 1111 20th St. NW into apartments, walks the job site with project manager Nick Interdonato on Feb. 21. (Jonathan Newton for The Washington Post)
A year after Mayor Muriel E. Bowser launched a campaign to rescue downtown, her quest faces a slew of hurdles, not the least of which is uncertainty over whether Ted Leonsis’s Washington Capitals and Wizards will remain at Capital One Arena. Office attendance is at 48 percent of pre-pandemic levels, as a preponderance of federal workers still work from home. More than 20 percent of downtown storefronts and offices are vacant, driving down the value of commercial real estate — a key source of tax revenue for city services.
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By Paul Schwartzman
Paul Schwartzman specializes in political profiles and narratives about life, death and everything in between. Before joining The Washington Post, he worked at the New York Daily News, where he covered Rudolph W. Giuliani’s rise as mayor. Twitter https://twitter.com/paulschwartzman
As downtown D.C. seeks rebound, empty offices, fear of crime cast shadow
By Paul Schwartzman
March 15, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
An unhoused person sleeps on 18th Street NW in downtown D.C. on Feb. 29, next to a vacant restaurant space. (Jonathan Newton for The Washington Post)
Share
{I have none left}
Gary Cohen knows it may seem absurd to think people would move to a neighborhood dominated by offices that are often more empty than occupied. But hear him out: Downtown Washington — still reeling from the ravages of the pandemic — could be a cool place to live. ... No, seriously.
“We just need to give them a reason,” the developer said as he walked through an office building he’s turning into a 10-story apartment house at the corner of 20th and L streets NW. His reasons include sleek apartments, an outdoor swimming pool, a communal terrace, a health club, a yoga studio, a pet spa and a ninth-floor, AstroTurf-lined dog run.
Cohen is less certain about the vacant 8,000-square-foot storefront on the ground floor. For the past year, he has sought a buzzworthy restaurant to lease the space for $33,000 a month. One deal fell through. Another may be coming together. His search, he worries, has been made more difficult by persistent reports of crime, vacant offices and A-list companies seeking to leave downtown. “That’s what keeps me up at night,” he said.
Developer Gary Cohen, left, who is converting an office building at 1111 20th St. NW into apartments, walks the job site with project manager Nick Interdonato on Feb. 21. (Jonathan Newton for The Washington Post)
A year after Mayor Muriel E. Bowser launched a campaign to rescue downtown, her quest faces a slew of hurdles, not the least of which is uncertainty over whether Ted Leonsis’s Washington Capitals and Wizards will remain at Capital One Arena. Office attendance is at 48 percent of pre-pandemic levels, as a preponderance of federal workers still work from home. More than 20 percent of downtown storefronts and offices are vacant, driving down the value of commercial real estate — a key source of tax revenue for city services.
{snip}
Share
{I have none left}
By Paul Schwartzman
Paul Schwartzman specializes in political profiles and narratives about life, death and everything in between. Before joining The Washington Post, he worked at the New York Daily News, where he covered Rudolph W. Giuliani’s rise as mayor. Twitter https://twitter.com/paulschwartzman