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Since the pandemic, downtown DC has only returned to 50% of economic activity. New orders from the federal government could change that.
WASHINGTON — Is it time for federal workers to go back to the office? In April, The White House requested federal agencies revise their remote work guidelines. If workers come back to the offices, few places stand to benefit more than downtown D.C.
If you have been to downtown D.C. recently, it is a shell of its pre-pandemic self. By the numbers, it’s only about 52% as busy as it was pre-pandemic, according to the Downtown BID.
If you ask D.C. officials, they will tell you the major reason is many federal workers haven’t returned to in-person work.
“Thirty percent of all the traffic we got downtown was from those federal workers,” Councilman Kenyon McDuffie, chairman of the Business and Economic Development Committee said.
McDuffie said downtown is crucial to the economy of D.C. It accounts for 22% of the District’s jobs.
Without federal workers downtown you start to see the accompanying industries like restaurants, shops, and theaters start to dry up as well.
“I was encouraged by the recent decision by the federal government to really try and promote workers to come back to the district of Columbia to work, it’s what the city needs,” McDuffie said.
In April, the Biden administration gave guidance to federal agencies to step up a return to office for workers. The federal Office of Personnel Management announced it will end the use of maximum telework in May. All signs McDuffie hopes lead to a return to workers downtown.
“The D.C. government has really been all hands on deck trying to work on a comeback for our downtown,” he said.
While the district waits for workers to come back, the mayor and council are also exploring converting abandoned office space into residential properties.
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