Commercial Property Acquisition Fund
Helps startup and industry teams with commercialization support for Commercial Property Acquisition Fund in built environment.
Eligibility · United States · US-DC
The Commercial Property Acquisition Fund (CPAF) is a Washington, DC government initiative administered by City First Enterprises (CFE) on behalf of the DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED). The programme provides down-payment assistance grants to DC-based businesses purchasing commercial property in the District for owner-occupancy. The programme operates on a rolling basis with no fixed submission deadline. For FY26, Mayor Muriel Bowser committed up to $1.5 million to CPAF, contingent on final DC budget approval; applicants should confirm current availability before applying.
Grant amounts are capped at $300,000 per award or 25% of the property sale price, whichever is lower. Eligibility is limited to for-profit businesses headquartered in DC that intend to own and occupy the acquired commercial property. A minimum owner-occupancy requirement of seven years is a hard condition of the award — recipients who sell or vacate before seven years are subject to recapture. The grant is structured as upfront down-payment assistance, distinguishing it from performance-based incentive programmes such as DMPED's Vitality Fund.
Applications are submitted online through City First Enterprises, which administers CPAF on DMPED's behalf. The contact for the programme is cpaf@cfenterprises.org. Because the total pool is modest at $1.5 million and the award cap is $300,000, the programme can fund a maximum of five recipients at the ceiling amount per fiscal year. Businesses in sectors beyond real estate — including professional services, retail, and light manufacturing — may apply, as the programme is sector-neutral. The key qualification factors are DC business registration, the intent to owner-occupy, and the ability to service the remaining purchase cost beyond the grant.
Provides down-payment assistance grants of up to $300,000 to DC-based businesses purchasing commercial property for owner-occupancy in the District.
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