Deputy Mayor outlines GrowDC budget, highlights RFK deal and downtown investments

Deputy Mayor Nina Albert told the Council's Committee on Business and Economic Development on June 16 that Mayor Muriel Bowser's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget advances a “GrowDC” strategy to diversify the District's economy and position downtown for longer-term recovery.

Albert said the plan centers on higher-growth subsectors and targeted place investments. “GrowDC is designed to rebalance our economy by focusing on high growth subsectors of the economy,” she said, naming sports, entertainment and technology as priorities.

Why it matters: The testimony links the mayor's budget to a major, ongoing redevelopment — bringing the Washington Commanders back to the RFK campus — and to a set of downtown projects intended to increase tourism, jobs and private investment. Those choices would reshape how the District directs limited local revenue over the next several years.

Key proposals and figures - DMPED (the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development) is presented with an FY2026 operating budget of roughly $56.4 million and a capital program of about $325.7 million, according to Albert's testimony. She said the capital figure is lower than FY2025’s approved capital budget. - The testimony described the Commanders' private investment in the RFK campus as a “$2,700,000,000” minimum…