Housing in Downtown is an innovative program designed to catalyze new residential development through commercial-to-residential conversion via a 20-year tax abatement. The program is expected to help achieve 90% of the Mayor’s goal of 15,000 new residents Downtown by 2028. The program is competitive, with available funds set by program caps: 

• FY24-26 – $2.5M total; cap remaining $1.7M
• FY27 – Total cap increases to $6.8M; cap remaining $2.9M
• FY28 – Total cap increases to $41M; cap remaining $35M
• Future Years – The prior year's cap, with 4% annual escalation in each successive year. 

Mayor Bowser’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget included an updated Housing in Downtown program and additional technical amendments were adopted through emergency legislation in early January 2024 to allow for the effective administration of the program. The program’s Request for Applications (RFA) was made available in the first quarter of 2024.  

This program is for owners and developers for commercial real estate and is not an apartment placement program for households.

Program Overview Deck  
Housing in Downtown Program Guide

Legislation and Rules  

• Housing in Downtown Notice of Final Rulemaking
• Housing in Downtown Tax Abatement Technical Amendment Act of 2024
• Housing in Downtown Abatement Amendment Act of 2023 (pg. 50)
• Housing in Downtown Tax Abatement Act of 2022 (pg. 98)

Applicant Resources

• HID Covenant (DHCD) 
• HID Covenant – Ground Lease (DHCD)
• Permitting Guidance (DOB) 
• Housing in Downtown Certificate (DOB)
• First Source Non-Construction Fact Sheet  
• First Source Non-Construction Agreement 

Questions  
All questions regarding the application must be submitted via the RFA Q&A Portal.

 

Request for Application (RFA)  
The RFA was published on March 22, 2024. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (“DMPED”) is releasing this RFA to provide instructions for applications from owners, or their authorized designees or assignees, delivering developments that meet the program requirements.
The RFA consists of the following two attachments:  

• Request for Application (PDF)
• HID RFA Form (Excel)

DMPED shall assess each application, and give preference to applications, based on the benefit of the proposed development to the area surrounding the parcel, as described in the competitive process.

RFA Submission Portal
This RFA will be open on a rolling basis, allowing for the submission of applications at any time while the RFA is open, or unless otherwise posted on this website. DMPED shall review each application submitted in the order in which it is received. Submit complete applications to the submission portal (below), and a brief email should also be sent to [email protected] notifying that a submission has been made.

Submission Window Opens on March 22, 2024 (Rolling).

RFA Questions  
For questions concerning the HID RFA, please submit via the RFA Q&A Portal. Responses will be posted publicly to this website as an FAQ.