WASHINGTON — Three buildings under the "Housing in Downtown" program have been selected.
On Thursday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the following addresses will be converted into residential spaces:
- 1625 Massachusetts Ave. NW
- 1825 Connecticut Ave. NW
- 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW
- 615 H St. NW
1625 Mass Ave. will include 157 units, with at least 15 units under DC's affordable housing. 1825 and 1875 Connecticut Ave will include 525 units with at least 69 units under DC's affordable housing. 615 H Street is a rowhome with surface parking lot that will be redeveloped into 72 residential units, with at least 8 units under D.C.'s affordable housing.
The Housing in Downtown program was included in Mayor Bowser's Fiscal Year 2023 Budget. The program is capped at $41 million through 2028. The program is supposed to add 8,400 new housing units aimed to support the DC Comeback Plan. The plan's mission is to add 15,000 residents in downtown D.C.
In addition to the housing revitalization, Mayor Bowser also announced that five businesses will receive conditional awards through the District's new $3 million Downtown Retail Recovery Grant program, for spaces that have been vacant for the last six months. Among those businesses are:
- H&M: An international fashion brand opening its Downtown flagship store at 1025 F Street, NW.
- Sandlot LLC: A D.C.-based events and hospitality business that will utilize grant funding to support the build out of their newest site at 1025 F Street NW, just a block away from Capital One Arena.
- Mikey & Mel’s Deli: A traditional Jewish Deli which will be opening a new location at 1828 L Street NW at the former Corner Deli location.
- Union Kitchen: A food and beverage business accelerator that will be opening a new location at 1301 K Street NW with expanded offerings.
- 1337 Manager LLC: Works with a boutique hotel coming to 1337 Connecticut Avenue NW to expand upon the hotel’s offerings by creating three distinct restaurant and venue spaces.
Nearly two months ago, Mayor Bowser announced the first commercial building that would be converted into residential units and it was trending across all social media — but not for its innovation or attempted positive impact on the community.
The units in the building were listed at $2,885 for a 574 square foot studio, and go all the way up to $6,088 for a one-bedroom, one-den apartment with two bathrooms.
Pricing for the three buildings announced Thursday have not been released, but if it's as expensive as the first building, they run the risk of remaining vacant.
