The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) assists the Mayor in the coordination, planning, supervision, and execution of economic development efforts in the District of Columbia with the goal of creating and preserving affordable housing, creating jobs, and increasing tax revenue. DMPED pursues policies and programs that create strong neighborhoods, expand and diversify the local economy, and provide residents with pathways to the middle class.
The priorities for the Deputy Mayor derive from our broad goals of increasing affordable housing, increasing jobs and increasing District revenues. Together, they support the Mayor’s vision of Inclusive Prosperity. Underlying all of our work is a commitment, driven by the Mayor, to good government and transparency.
Our top priorities for this year include:
1) Increase housing affordability and make progress towards #36000by2025
In partnership with agencies, DMPED will continue to advance housing affordability and stability for DC residents. DMPED will continue to lead an interagency effort toward Mayor Bowser’s ambitious goal of producing 36,000 new homes by 2025 by putting a major focus on affordable housing production and preservation. In addition, DMPED will work with agency partners to deploy programs and policies that support housing affordability and stability for DC tenants and homeowners, such as rent assistance. Key initiatives include leveraging all available financing sources, including the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF), federal funding and land dispositions; and deploying new tools and policies to support affordable housing production and preservation such as amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and Inclusionary Zoning. DMPED will also support this goal by delivering new affordable units through the New Communities Initiative and DMPED real estate development projects, and increasing housing equity by bringing affordable housing to areas where it is lacking and creating opportunities to reduce the racial wealth gap through homeownership.
2) Develop and execute the District’s equitable economic recovery strategy
In April 2020, Mayor Bowser charged DMPED with leading the District Economic Recovery Team (DERT), an interagency effort that coordinates new programs and strategies to implement over the short-, intermediate- and long-term to support DC’s economic recovery from COVID-19. Since April, the DERT has stood up various programs to stabilize the economy and provide relief to workers, residents and businesses. Additionally, the DERT has developed a long-term framework for achieving an equitable economic recovery. In FY21, as DC’s Economic Strategy nears its expiration, DMPED will work with agency partners and external stakeholders to complete the District’s economic recovery strategy while continuing to deploy federal funds through stabilization programs. Initiatives include launching the DERT advisory group, conducting analyses to inform strategy development, and identifying new opportunities to contract with CBEs and resident-owned businesses.
3) Advance catalytic real estate development projects to increase access to economic opportunities, geographic equity, and tax revenue.
DMPED will continue to move its real estate development portfolio forward in ways that strengthen communities and underserved areas. Where we live matters – it affects our economic outcomes, our health outcomes and more. DMPED will continue to leverage all available economic development tools to bring fresh food, community services and retail, affordable housing, jobs and recreational spaces to neighborhoods. Key redevelopment projects include Hill East, the Reeves Center, St. Elizabeths East, McMillan Sand Filtration redevelopment and the New Communities Initiative. Key initiatives to achieve this goal include executing a new equity inclusion preference in RFPs and hyper-local hiring for development projects, the Neighborhood Prosperity Fund, and a strengthened focus on increasing access to grocery and fresh food.
4) Sustain businesses, jobs and entrepreneurs by improving access to capital and new business opportunities, with focus on supporting historically marginalized entrepreneurs.
As DC’s businesses and employers work to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, DMPED will continue to provide support in the form of financial relief and technical assistance. These efforts will prioritize helping business leaders to not only sustain their companies, but also retain jobs for DC residents. DMPED will also ramp up efforts to address underlying inequities that existed before COVID-19 emerged, including uneven access to capital and business opportunities for historically marginalized entrepreneurs. Key initiatives include maximizing resources through the portfolio of Great Streets grant programs, the next generation of DMPED’s inclusive innovation initiative, and a new equity impact funding program.
5) Continue to create the most open and transparent DMPED while piloting new approaches to communication and engagement.
This year DMPED will continue its efforts to better engage residents, businesses and advocates through innovative use of data and community engagement mechanisms. From data visualization to community-based promotion to mobile phone-based outreach, DMPED will seek not only to continue to provide more accessible information, but also facilitate more feedback. Key initiatives include DMPED’s public engagement opportunities, the #36000by2025 Tracker, and the public Real Estate Pipeline, the Return on Investment report, and a disparity study of procurement. In addition, DMPED will continue to make disaggregated data (by geography and race) available whenever possible, as they are essential for monitoring disparities and designing and implementing programs to address them.