Montgomery County Council approves pilot to incentivize converting vacant offices to housing with affordability requirements

The Montgomery County Council on April 8 approved a countywide pilot to encourage the conversion of underused office buildings into housing, voting to adopt an expedited tax-abatement and review package after a daylong debate.

The program, advanced by the council’s joint committees, creates a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) pilot that would reduce or eliminate annual property tax bills for qualifying conversions and demolitions that produce residential units. Under the version the council adopted, projects must set aside 17.5 percent of units as Moderately Priced Dwelling Units for households at or below 60 percent of area median income and would be eligible for an abatement that the legislation ties to a 20‑year benefit term; the legislative package also includes a 10‑year sunset of the pilot program itself.

Supporters said the subsidy is necessary to make conversion projects financially feasible. “If we want these conversions to happen, we have to incentivize them,” Planning, Housing and Parks Chair Andrew Friedson said during debate, urging a consistent, fast and clear process so developers will act.

Opponents and skeptics warned the council to move more cautiously and proposed a range of fiscal guardrails. Council Vice President…