Carr Properties, Jair Lynch-Led Conversion Projects Receive D.C. Tax Abatements
Ten office-to-residential projects, which will add nearly 2,600 units, have received the abatement since the program’s launch in 2024
By Nick Trombola January 23, 2026 4:20 pm
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Washington, D.C.’s Housing in Downtown program has made the city an incubator for office-to-residential developments, and Mayor Muriel Bowser is kicking off 2026 with tax abatement grants for two more conversion projects.
Carr Properties and Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners are the latest developers to receive 20-year city tax abatements for their respective projects: the 300-unit development at 2121 Virginia Avenue NW, and the 511-unit project at 899 Maine Avenue SW. Ten conversion developments, representing 2,563 new units, have received abatements since the Bowser administration kicked off the Housing in Downtown program in early 2024.
Carr and Jair Lynch’s projects are unique among that roster. Both properties will undergo full redevelopment, including demolition, whereas other abatement recipients — such as Monument Realty’s 608-624 Eye Street NW in Chinatown and 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in D.C.’s West End — are for conversions of existing office buildings.
“Through the mayor’s investments in the Housing in Downtown program, we are continuing to drive interest and demand for office-to-residential conversions, including ones outside the immediate downtown core,” D.C. Deputy Mayor Nina Albert said in a statement.
The tax abatement program is capped at $2.5 million through fiscal year 2026, though it will rise to $41 million by fiscal year 2028, with additional 4 percent increases each consecutive year.
Post Brothers, a Philadelphia-based development firm that focuses on adaptive reuse projects, recently secured a $465 million loan package tied to its abatement-recipient project at 1825-1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, dubbed the Geneva. The debt, originated by Nuveen Green Capital, is the largest-ever Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing deal. Geneva broke ground earlier this week and is the District’s largest office-to-residential development with 532 units.
“From the start, our Housing in Downtown strategy has been about turning challenges into opportunities, taking underused office buildings and converting them into homes that strengthen our city,” Bowser said in a statement Thursday. “The Geneva shows what it looks like when we follow through on that vision.”
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
