DC Council discussing future of downtown DC, affordable housing

WASHINGTON — DC Councilmember Robert White is pushing for a concrete plan to revitalize Downtown D.C. — and soon.

The Committee on Housing, of which Councilmember White is the chair, is holding a public roundtable Tuesday morning.

The committee invited local and national experts in everything from housing to economic recovery, as well as guests from other cities across the country that have creatively infused life back into their neighborhoods.

"The idea of building communities, the things that support communities, investing and enlarging the arts, downtown, creating outdoor markets, that is, I believe, our future. So I want to solidify that in the hearing," Councilmember White said. "But I want to hear from people who disagree with me, so I'm inviting not just people who share my vision, but people who see it differently, to the table so we can say, OK, now it's time. We've heard everything. Time to make decisions and move forward."

White said he wants the committee to devise a clear plan in the next three months.

Mayor Muriel Bowser shared her five-year-plan earlier this year for a post-pandemic comeback. It has five foundational elements, including creating a place of choice to locate and do business, anchoring downtown's comeback in public safety, building a residential base, planning for transportation as an asset, and making it happen.

"Mayor Bowser and some other groups have plans, and the government has programs, but we don't yet have an overarching vision or strategy. That's a dangerous space to linger in for too long," Councilmember White said. "We have to know very clearly where we're going, what it's going to take to get there, and how we get from where we are now to there. So that requires us to keep our foot on the gas."

Mayor Bowser and President Biden have called for workers to come back to the office to help revitalize Downtown, but Councilmember White does think that is the right approach.

“It's not happening. You know, don't waste your energy. It's not happening. Workers are demanding flexibility. Talented people are going to drive the market. So let's turn the page and stop looking at yesterday. Let's go forward," he said.

He expects a large part of this conversation to be on affordable housing, because a vision is moot if no one can afford to live downtown.

“People who work in our restaurants and accommodate tourists -- those are the folks who really keep our economy revving, but they can't afford to live in D.C. now. We have too much office space and an urgent need for more housing," the Councilmember said. "So I'm saying build that housing downtown, and that will leave us with two options. Either one, we will build more affordable and workforce housing for everyday people downtown or two, we will build more housing downtown that's less affordable, but make sure that is our lever and leverage for expanding the affordability in other parts of D.C. I don't think there's another option.”

Here's a list of the speakers for the hearing:

The roundtable begins at 10 a.m., and you can watch it here.