WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Mayor Muriel Bowser and city officials launched the Downtown Action Plan on Wednesday. This comes nearly six months after the launch of Bowser's Comeback DC plan in January.
The Action Plan builds upon DC’s Comeback Plan and sets specific strategies, programs, and initiatives to reimagine and revitalize downtown, while also identifying specific roles for the District’s economic partners.
Mayor Bowser hopes the plans will bring 15,000 new residents to the area, despite several empty storefronts and buildings.
The Mayor says those empty structures are the target for future apartments, but it'll be a challenge to transform them.
"Access to light and water is a little bit different in buildings that aren't meant for people to live in," she explained.
Mayor Bowser did not specify any plans on how the conversions would look, but she did say that the investments into downtown aren't just financial.
"They also need a policy environment that encourages innovation, that lessens the cost of construction," she said, "that shortens the time for permitting."
The mayor also emphasized what she called "institutional investors" that the city needs to help make these projects happen.
"I want people to think D.C. first," she said.
Former city councilmember Jack Evans says he supports the mayor's plan to revitalize downtown D.C., but in order to bring thousands of people back, the city has to provide basic needs.
"You got to start with clean and safe," he said, "they really got to focus their efforts on cleaning this place up so it doesn't look dirty and on making people feel safe when they're walking the streets."
So that when people come back to populate downtown, retailers and businesses will follow.
As part of the launch of the Downtown Action Plan, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) will award a $200,000 grant to the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID), who, in conjunction with the Golden Triangle BID and Federal City Council, will develop a comprehensive, cross sector action plan for downtown recovery.
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