DC to Add Over 15 Million Square Feet in the Next 10 Years

August 19, 2015

Cranes and holes the size of city blocks are not uncommon sights in the District. I remember not too long ago waiting in a large downtown parking lot for a Megabus. That's now CityCenter, where a Louis Vuitton just opened. DC has experienced rapid development in recent years, which is only set to continue in the next ten. The Office of Deputy Mayor's Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) executes the Mayor's economic development strategy including real estate development. Over the next ten years through DMPED the city will add over 15 million square feet of real estate to the market. Where is it going?

D.C. Ward Map

Ward 3 is the only one untouched by DMPED's plan, unsurprising as it is the wealthiest ward. Ward 6 stands to gain the most real estate in the next ten years, buoyed by big projects like the former Hines School, the Waterfront and Capital Crossing over I-395. Limited development east of the Anacostia, the poorest area of the city, occurs in short term. In the 2020's Ward 8 will see a swath of new real estate driven by the renovation of St. Elizabeth's East Campus and controversial plans at Barry's Farm. While much of the 15 million square feet being brought to the market is residential, not all of it is.

Source: Map_of_Washington,_D.C.'s_1st_ward.svg: Dcmacnut derivative work: MarginalCost (Map_of_Washington,_D.C.'s_1st_ward.svg) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons

Over half of new developments will be residential, many of which will offer much-needed affordable housing units. Developments east of the Anacostia are the most residential-focused, making up over 88% of new development. Ward 2 development is the least focused on new residential space and instead will see big gains in hotels. The greatest addition of office space will take place in Wards 5 and 6. Ward 6 is the only ward to see square footage gains across all categories, speaking to the diversity of the ward which spans Chinatown, Waterfront and Capitol Hill. The diversity of developments happening across the city in the next 10 years will undoubtedly bring change, and with any luck some cheaper rent too.

Interested in learning more about or tracking progress on these large development projects? Check out the Project Pipeline Database where you can find exact locations, management companies and images for each project.

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Technical notes: Graphics are based on the Project Pipeline database administered by OCTO. Only projects with a reported completion data and square footage were included. You can find complete code for this post on my github page.