By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) recently hosted the annual State of Downtown Forum, exploring the challenges and momentum driving the city center’s economic outlook.
The May 7 event coincided with the release of the 2025 State of Downtown Report, which revealed gains in public safety and cultural activity and serious setbacks in job growth, tourism and housing growth.
“This was a year that was a little bit difficult, and some of the data tells a very hard story for us. In some cases, it’s warning signals and signs that we have to be aware of, but there are also real issues that we are facing,” said Gerren Price, president and CEO of DowntownDC BID. “Some of our tourism took real hits at points of the year. It doesn’t help when there is a federal safety emergency declared. We had federal job losses that created a real uncertainty for many people who are part of our community, and retail and office recovery has continued to be a bit uneven.”
Part of downtown D.C.’s economic trajectory has been shaped by federal policy decisions, including sweeping workforce reductions across agencies and the 47th president’s deployment of the National Guard in August 2025 in response to what officials described as a crime emergency.
Though downtown, overall, saw a 2 percent increase in visitation throughout the year, out-of-market and regional visitors started to decline in the summer—corresponding with the heavier law enforcement presence. By November, regional visitation was down 1 percent, while out-of-market visitors fell 4 percent.
“Foot traffic in 2025 started with a sprint but ended up crossing the finish line with a hobble,” said Mark Simpson, director of planning and economic development for DowntownDC BID. “Despite these headwinds our cultural anchors and institutions saw increased attendance year over year.”
Cultural attendance rose 9 percent overall. Downtown museums saw a revenue increase from $3.07 million in 2024 to $3.62 million in 2025, while Capital One Arena saw a slight uptick from $1.73 million to $1.74 million. Local theaters, however, experienced declines, falling from $703,000 to $646,000.
Job growth remained a major pain point for downtown in 2025. The report found that the District lost 39,300 jobs, while suburban Maryland added 12,000 jobs and Northern Virginia added 111,300 last year.
“The District, overall, has the unique and unenviable position of being the only jurisdiction amongst our neighbors that not only saw negative job growth last year, but it’s still below pre-pandemic levels,” said Simpson.
He noted that early data from 2026 suggests that the downward trend will continue, making it even more important for job growth to be a key focus in the District’s economic development strategy.
Housing development presented another challenge. Currently, the development of market-rate multifamily housing in downtown has largely halted, according to Simpson. In 2025, the District recorded 6,240 multifamily construction starts compared to 9,924 in 2019.
“We need more housing. For a myriad of reasons, we need to be building more,” said Simpson. “But, these visions cannot become a reality if we do not continue the policy gains, like the ones we saw in the Rental Act, the investments and abatements in things, like the Housing in Downtown or Office to Anything program. We need to look creatively at public financing mechanisms that can make projects pencil that otherwise would be stuck in the pipeline.”
Despite ongoing hurdles to downtown’s recovery, DowntownDC BID leaders said the city center’s trajectory cannot be viewed as separate from the rest of the District, arguing that its condition is tied to broader neighborhood stability and long-term growth.
Price emphasized that downtown’s evolution is about more than returning to pre-pandemic conditions, but reimagining how it functions for residents, workers and visitors.
“A healthy, thriving downtown spurs a healthy, thriving D.C. for all eight wards. We have to stand up and continue to make sure that everybody in the city understands that for our future to be secured,” said Price. “As we think about where downtown is going, it’s not just recovery, it’s reinvention. It’s not just progress, it’s about people, joy and possibility.”
