Mayor Bowser Unveils Three New Commercial Conversions

DC Metropolitan Police

(Washington, DC) –Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser marked another milestone in the District’s Housing in Downtown (HID) program by celebrating the start of demolition at 1990 K Street NW, an office building that will be converted into housing for more than 700 residents, in addition to retail space. The Mayor also announced that two new projects are in the HID pipeline: 608-624 Eye Street NW in Chinatown and 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in the West End. These new developments will bring the total number of HID projects to eight since the program’s launch in March 2024.

“We have a beautiful Downtown, we have buildings that need people in them, and we have a need for more housing in our city — the Housing in Downtown program recognizes all of that, and it’s an important part of our Growth Agenda,” said Mayor Bowser. “With this project we’ll bring 700 new residents to Downtown, we’ll create new retail spaces, and that means a more vibrant and livable Downtown.”

Since launching the District’s Comeback Plan in 2023, Washington, DC has become a nationwide leader in office-to-residential conversions and the Bowser Administration is on its way to reaching the goal of adding 15,000 new residents to Downtown DC.

Stonebridge and The Bernstein Companies are redeveloping the 1990 K Street NW office building—now being rebranded as 1999 Eye Street NW—into a $250 million, 415,000-square-foot multifamily project with 434 units (including 44 affordable units) for more than 700 new residents, and 17,000 square feet of retail space. The project will begin demolition on September 3, 2025, and the first residents are expected to move in by May 2028. 

Monument Realty is redeveloping several small lots at 608-624 Eye Street NW into The Gallery, which will transform a public alley into an active retail area and residential entrance. When completed, the project will have 116 units (including 12 affordable units) across more than 100,000 square feet, and will include just under 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. At 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Monument Realty is converting three floors of an existing eight-story building from office to residential. This partial conversion project is expected to add 60 housing units to the building, including six affordable units.

HID is an innovative program designed to catalyze new residential development and add thousands of new residents in Downtown through a 20-year tax abatement for commercial-to-residential conversions. Through a $41 million investment, HID will help deliver 6.7 million square feet of new residential use, or 8,400 new housing units. The current eight HID projects will result in the transformation of more than 2.1 million square feet of underutilized office space into 1,745 new housing units, including 176 affordable homes.

“These eight projects demonstrate how the Mayor’s $41 million investment in the HID program is already paying off for District residents, businesses, and visitors in helping to create a Downtown where people can live — not just commute to and from work,” said Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Nina Albert. “And the potential for HID is growing, as budgetary changes starting this fall will allow us to consider even more potential projects for the program.”

The FY26 Budget Support Act included some legislative changes to the HID program, including a change in the Eligible Area map, which now stretches across the Near Northwest Planning Area and down below I-695. The Bowser Administration is committed to building housing across the District—and especially in Downtown DC. Mayor Bowser’s Growth Agenda for the District is designed to generate new economic activity, create new jobs for DC residents, and increase revenue to support city services and programs in the face of a shifting economy that has seen fewer in-office workers and a reduced federal footprint Downtown.

Following is a list of the eight current HID projects:

HID Project Total Housing Units  Market Rate Units Affordable Units Total Square Footage

HID ProjectTotal Housing Units Market Rate UnitsAffordable UnitsTotal Square Footage 
1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW 157 14116119,358 
613-617 H Street NW 7265758,900 
1133 19 Street NW 220 198 22199,200 
1825-1875 Connecticut Ave NW  525 472 531,000,000 
1201 Connecticut Ave NW  160  144  16  189,000 
1990 K Street NW  435  391  44  406,000  435  391  44  406,000 

608-624 Eye St NW 

116  104  12  104,950 
2401 Pennsylvania Ave NW  60  54  6  42,569 

Totals 

1,745  1,569 176  2,119,977 

 The Mayor’s FY26 Budget, Grow DC, also invests in Downtown DC’s public spaces, dedicating nearly $33 million to transform Gallery Place with three improvement projects: Gallery Square, which will create an urban park-like plaza for residents and visitors to enjoy; 8th Street North, which will create an urban park along the blocks between the Carnegie Library and the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture; and Gallery Place Gateway, which will redesign 7th Street from south of the Capital One Arena to the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter Metro station, creating an enhanced retail and walking space that will be adorned with public art.

Public Release. More on this here.