Welcome to our first edition of Capital Insights, a weekly news roundup of all things Washington, DC Economic Development.
Mayor Bowser has proposed a comprehensive redevelopment framework for the RFK Stadium campus, potentially bringing the Washington Commanders back to the District and creating a multi-purpose urban space by 2030. Read the full plan for #OurRFK here.
“The General Services Administration has sold D.C.’s Webster School, pocketing $4.138 million for the historic property across the street from CityCenterDC.”
“With the Webster School now in private hands, the property will be taxable for the first time decades, an example of the silver lining of the GSA’s push to shrink its portfolio. Webster’s 2025 assessed value is roughly $5.1 million, per the D.C. tax office.”
The District leads the nation in planned office-to-residential conversions. As a result, there’s a lack of grocery stores downtown. In response to this growing need, Chairman Mendelson recently introduced a resolution to expand the existing Supermarket Tax Incentives. The Partnership has been actively working on bringing more grocery options to DC for over 20 years. Check out our Grocery Map to see a visualization of how we’ve added 20 new grocery since 2018.
“Miami doughnut and coffee shop The Salty Donut plans to open four locations across Greater Washington this year, including three spots in the District.”
With Capital One Arena set to begin renovations this year, a vision for the Commanders potential return to RFK, and the Nationals eying a refresh of their own, has there ever been a better time to be a fan in the Sports Capital?
Pallas Advisors is the newest recipient of the Vitality Fund. The national security-focused consulting firm’s new headquarters will double their foot print in DC to more than 11,000 SF.
The Vitality fund has supported the relocation of one company and the expansion of six companies, resulting in an estimated:
- 596 new jobs
- 291 retained jobs
- $27.7 million capital investment
- 155,000 leased square feet
- $4.4 million in fiscal impact
The full report is available here and shows Washington, DC ranked 3rd worldwide—above cities like Tokyo, New York, London, and even the Bay Area.
“While San Francisco and Seattle have historically dominated the U.S. rankings, they’re now seeing an outflow of talent to other markets. Washington, D.C. and Austin were the biggest beneficiaries, each rising significantly based on the ability of companies to draw talent out of the traditional tech hubs. Surging demand for tech workers has many D.C.-area tech companies looking for candidates willing to relocate. Two thirds of out-of-market candidates interviewing for D.C. jobs previously resided in San Francisco, Seattle, or New York.”
“The Georgetown Google Store will be large. It has signed a 10-year lease with building owner EastBanc for 7,000-square feet. It will carry Google devices, accessories and merchandise, including Google phones and Chromebooks. The store will also have on-site device repair, trade-ins and support for device installation, setup and troubleshooting, similar to Apple retail stores.”
