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April 8, 2024Amid a pivotal moment for D.C., the mayor is slicing some cornerstone initiatives to bridge a funding gap, but her newly proposed budget is also reallocating some of its funding to one of the city’s main challenges at the moment: reviving downtown
Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled her fiscal year 2025 budget proposal Wednesday, calling for $21B for operations and $11.8B in capital improvement funds.
“Through strategic investments and shared sacrifice, this budget invests not only in a safer, stronger D.C. right now, but it looks ahead three, four, and five years and includes investments that will accelerate our comeback and increase our capacity to make big investments in the outyears of our financial plan,” Bowser said in her testimony to the D.C. Council Wednesday.
Among the budget’s new investments is a conversion fund that allocates $50M in tax incentives to convert vacant or unused office space into residential and another $13M for turning them into alternative uses.
The budget also proposes $68M for three streetscape projects: the I Street Greenway, Pennsylvania Avenue West and Dupont Park.
Other downtown initiatives include $64M for another permanent supportive housing and shelter space at the Federal City Shelter site, $32M for tourism and grants and marketing, and $5M to attract and retain businesses in high-growth sectors.