Office-to-Anything Program

The Office-to-Anything Program is a grant from the District of Columbia Government that funds the repositioning of outdated and obsolete office space into new commercial, retail, entertainment, hotel, or other non-residential uses in Central Washington, DC.

Officially known as the Central Washington Activation Projects Temporary Tax Abatement, the program offers a 15-year temporary property tax freeze calculated as the difference between the base-year value and the post-improvement repositioned value. Eligible properties must be located within the Central Washington Planning Area or within 1,750 linear feet of its boundary. Residential conversions are not eligible.

The program is competitive, with annual funding caps starting at $5 million in FY27, rising to $6 million in FY28 and $8 million in FY29, with 4% annual escalation thereafter.

Office-to-Anything Program | dmped Office-to-Anything Program Central Washington Activation Projects Temporary Tax Abatement, “Office to Anything” The “Office to Anything” program, which will incentivize the repositioning of office space into new, activated commercial, entertainment, retail, or non-residential spaces.

The eligible area for Office to Anything is informed by the Office of Planning’s Central Washington Planning Area plus 1,750 linear feet in any direction beyond the boundary.

The Office to Anything program, officially known as the Central Washington Activation Projects Temporary Tax Abatement, will support the repositioning of outdated and obsolete office space into new retail spaces, hotels, world-class office space, restaurants, and other non-residential uses by offering a 15-year temporary property tax freeze.

The program is designed to complement the District’s Housing in Downtown program , and, therefore, properties converting to residential use are not eligible for Office to Anything. A tax freeze is a partial tax abatement calculated as the difference between the Base Year value and the repositioned value (post improvements). For definitions and further explanation refer to the Program Guidelines.

The program is competitive, with available funds limited to the following program caps: FY27 – Total cap increases to $5M FY28 – Total cap increases to $6M FY29 – Total cap increases to $8M; and Future Years – The prior year's cap, with 4% annual escalation in each successive year. The caps are subject to the availability of funding and are aggregated with previous years.

For example, in Fiscal Year 2028 there will be one million dollars ($1,000,000) available in net-new funding. Pilot Program Limitations No tax abatements under this program shall begin before October 1, 2026 (Fiscal year 2027). No new Real Properties may be selected to receive a tax abatement under this program after September 30, 2030.

The period of the temporary tax abatement certified by the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (“Deputy Mayor”) will be up to fifteen (15) tax years.

The Deputy Mayor may cancel an eligibility and reservation letter for a real property if the real property has not begun a Repositioning within 3 years after the date of the eligibility and reservation letter, or within such a period of time as the Deputy Mayor may otherwise set forth in the eligibility and reservation letter. The real property is located within the Eligible Area.

Office to Anything Eligibility Area Map The building that is the subject of the Repositioning is a building with a minimum of 50,000 square feet. The real property is undergoing or planning to undergo a Repositioning at the time of application.

The building use is currently primarily Office Use, as evidenced by the current Certificate of Occupancy; or, if the building is currently vacant, proof that the most recent use was primarily Office Use. Please refer to the following Program Guidelines for eligibility criteria, application details, the selection process, and program administration details.

Applicants must first submit the Pre-Screening Form to be validated by DMPED, only applicants with a validated Pre-Screening Form may apply. The proposed project must meet the eligibility criteria pursuant to the Central Washington Activation Project Temporary Tax Abatement Act of 2024 (D. C.

Law 25-217; D. C. Official Code § 47-870 et seq.)

Applications received without a Pre-Screening Form will be discarded. DMPED shall review each application in the order in which it is received. Within sixty (60) days after receiving a complete application, DMPED shall determine whether the project meets any criteria set forth in the selection process.

Questions about the application should be directed to the Program Manager, at [email protected] . Applicants should submit complete applications to the submission portal (below) and send a brief email to [email protected] notifying DMPED that a submission has been made. The submission portal will always be open, unless otherwise noted on this website.