D.C. Council Approves Sports Betting, Development Financing And More In Year-End Flurry Of Votes
The D.C. Council passed a series of bills Tuesday that could impact commercial real estate, from legalizing sports betting, to unmasking LLCs, to helping move forward a Northeast D.C. multifamily project and a Southeast D.C. hospital.
The District will become the first jurisdiction in the region to allow sports betting once Mayor Muriel Bowser signs the bill the council passed by an 11-2 vote Tuesday. The bill would allow wagers to be placed on games at sports venues, private establishments and on a mobile device, the Washington Post reports.
The council voted unanimously to pass a bill forcing additional disclosures on limited liability companies, a structure commonly used in commercial real estate deals, the Washington Business Journal reports. LLCs were previously only required to disclose the registered agent, but the bill will force any individual with at least 10% interest or the authority to make day-to-day decisions to be revealed in the business filings.
A 1,700-unit development in Northeast D.C.'s Brentwood neighborhood received a major boost from the council Tuesday. It voted unanimously to approve a $47M tax increment financing package for MidCity Development's RIA project. Another TIF that was proposed alongside it, a $61M package for Anacostia's Reunion Square, has not moved forward after opposition from Ward 8 Council Member Trayon White.
The council also approved a $5.2M property tax break for Chemonics, an international development company that plans to lease up to 290K SF to anchor the next phase of The Yards. Additionally, it passed a $21M tax abatement for EAB Global, which spun off from the Advisory Board after the company signed on to anchor the 655 New York Ave. NW development.
The deal to build a new hospital in Southeast D.C. may have been saved by a measure the council passed Tuesday. It loosened the requirements on the George Washington University Hospital planned for the St. Elizabeths East campus after the hospital threatened to back out of the deal earlier this month amid new regulations it viewed as too onerous.
