WASHINGTON — DC Mayor Muriel Bowser wants to convert some office spaces into homes to get more people living downtown.
Experts say it's going to be a big challenge. One of the experts is the newly appointed Acting Director of the Department of Buildings (DOB).
Brian Hanlon is an architect and former government executive. He replaced Ernest Chappal who was the former Director of DCRA and interim Director of DOB.
On Monday, Bowser presented him with a crystal bowl and thanked him for his service to District government. She used the news conference at DOB headquarters to also introduce Hanlon as her appointee to take over the agency.
WUSA9 asked Hanlon about his plan to crack down on bad developers who are hiding behind LLC and moving from one job to the next. He answered that while it was his first day on the job, he plans to be transparent and work with developers.
“If there are indeed bad actors out there, we will work with them to keep things safe and viable so that our city can continue its comeback,” said Hanlon.
Part of the city’s comeback is adding people to downtown. Right now, 90% of downtown is commercial space. A recent study on the state of downtown shows record high vacancies in office buildings. The mayor’s plan is to convert those empty offices into homes.
“You take an office building which wasn’t designed to be residential – clearly architectural challenges that lead to economic challenges that need to be figured out, and I’m looking forward to working with the design community to figure that out in a way that makes sense,” said Hanlon.
After WUSA9’s years-long investigation into unsafe homes and shotty construction, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs was split into two agencies. The Department of Buildings and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) share one roof. It’s been six months since the mayor appointed interims to both agencies.
Now that Hanlon is moving into DOB, the focus turns to the DLCP and its interim director Shirley Kwan-Hui who still holds the position past the six-month cut off. According to DC code, the mayor is supposed to appoint a replacement by now.
DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said, “The Mayor needs to ‘get off the pot’ and make a decision. It’s her call who to nominate but not her call to ignore the law, the Council and the public process.”
DC law also states the interim director should not be paid with District funds after six months. A mayoral spokesperson told WUSA9 the interim director is getting paid under a different position right now, but she could not share the exact role or salary.