On March 19, 2025, Executive Director Yesim Sayin was quoted in the Commercial Observer:
Average monthly office occupancy was still below 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to a September report from the D.C. Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank.
A reduction of the government’s vast holdings could therefore ultimately be a spoonful of medicine for the District, eventually allowing the city to diversify its economy, said Yesim Sayin, D.C. Policy Center’s executive director. Even if the Trump administration’s moves bring yet more pain first.
“In some ways for the District of Columbia, in the long run, if this is done in coordination with the D.C. government … and allowing for some sort of preparation work, this could be good for the District, taking buildings that are not in the highest and best use … and turning them into something else, which may create more economic activity, more vibrancy, and meet some sort of demand,” Sayin said. “That’s a good thing. The issue is going to be the speed with which this happens, or the coordination that shapes the dispositions or lease terminations.”
Read More: Why DOGE Can Move So Fast on Government Leases
Additional reading: District of Columbia: A fiscal crisis revisited