CPAF 5.0 Commercial Property Acquisition Fund Application

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Completed applications must be submitted by that time to be considered for the grant program. Grants will be made as funds are available. The program will remain open until all funds are awarded.

Mayor Bowser and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, in partnership with the Council of the District of Columbia, are strategically investing up to $1.5 million in the Commercial Property Acquisition Fund. The Commercial Property Acquisition Fund is designed to provide down payment assistance through grants of up to $300,000 or 25% of the sale price, whichever is less, to eligible DC-based businesses looking to maintain and expand their operations to a physical presence by acquiring commercial property located in the District.

Additional CPAF information

One Pager and FAQs

Please note:

Your application is the first step to accessing the grant.
Fill out one application per business legal entity.
CFE does not provide IT support. We strongly advise saving your answers outside this application.
Before submitting an application, you will need:

DC Active Business License, EIN letter or Taxes with EIN number
Clean Hands Certificate (dated 90 days prior to the application date)
Valid, government-issued ID for each business owner, indicating the business owner's state of residency.
Lender pre-approval, term sheet, or approval letter.
Purchase agreement for commercial property to purchase. If the purchase agreement is not ready, please submit a signed letter from the seller that includes the property price, address, or acceptance of the offer for the property.
Taxes filed for your business for 2022, 2023, and 2024 (if operating), 2025 (required).
Monthly profit and loss for 2022, 2023, 2024 (If operating), 2025 (required).

Current percentage of funds available is: 100% March 11, 2025)

Answer the following questions prior to moving forward with the application.

Does your business meet the above Equity Impact Enterprise (EIE) eligibility criteria?

"Equity Impact Enterprise" means a business enterprise that is a resident-owned business and a small business enterprise that can demonstrate that it is at least 51% owned by an individual who is, or a majority number of individuals who are:

(A) Economically disadvantaged individuals (“Economically disadvantaged individual” means an individual whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system is impaired because of diminished opportunities to obtain capital and credit as compared to others in the same line of business where such impairment is related to the individual’s status as socially disadvantaged. An individual is socially disadvantaged if the individual has reason to believe that the individual has been subjected to prejudice or bias because of his or her identity as a member of a group without regard to his or her qualities as an individual); or

(B) Individuals who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities.

YesNo

Is your business's main physical office located in the District of Columbia?

Yes

Is at least 51% of the business is owned by District of Columbia residents?

Yes

Does your business fall into any of the following categories?

	Yes	No
Bank or Financial Institution
Collection services or speculative activities business
Seasonal - only operates for part of the year
Construction Company
Real estate agent, broker, consultant, developer, investor, or lender
Non-Profit
Cannabis or cannabis related businesses

Additional questions about your business size and occupancy

	Yes	No
Does your business own another commercial property? And, do business owners own another commercial property (for all the businesses they own)?
Is your business's main physical location leased in the District of Columbia?
Do more than 50% of the business' gross revenues originate in the District of Columbia?
Did your business start to generate revenue prior to October 1, 2025?
Does the property to be purchased allow any current commercial use/retail?
Do your business plans include using the property as an investment property?
Does your business have more than 100 employees
Does your business have annual revenues of more than $15 million?
Does your business have more than 2 locations in the District of Columbia?

Is your business in good financial standing, and was your business revenue-generating prior to October 1, 2025?

YesNo

For questions or assistance regarding this application, please email CPAF@cfenterprises.org. The application guide and FAQ can be found here.

4. BUSINESS REVENUE INFORMATION If your files are too large, please submit the first page of your file and request a link to upload your files once you submit your complete application. Instructions will be provided in the email confirmation once you submit your application.

What is your Year to Date 2026 Revenue?

Please enter only numbers in this field with no dollar sign or commas. Decimal points are accepted.

Gross revenue for 2025

Please enter only numbers in this field with no dollar sign or commas. Decimal points are accepted.

2025 Financials (PDF)

If available, upload 2025 Taxes (PDF)

Was your business operating in 2024?

YesNo

Gross revenue for 2024

Please enter only numbers in this field with no dollar sign or commas. Decimal points are accepted.

2024 Financials (PDF)

2024 taxes (PDF)

Was your business operating in 2023?

YesNo

Gross revenue for 2023

Please enter only numbers in this field with no dollar sign or commas. Decimal points are accepted.

2023 Financials (PDF)

2023 taxes (PDF)

5. EMPLOYEE INFORMATION

Please enter whole numbers in the fields below. If the answer to any question is zero, please enter a zero in the field below.

Current Payroll Roster that lists all current employees and their state of residence

Please make sure the report does not include personally identifiable information such as social security numbers or date of birth.

2025

Number of full-time employees

Employees who work 40 or more hours per week.

Number of part-time employees

Employees who work fewer than 40 hours per week.

How many employees (both full and part-time) were District of Columbia residents?

2024

Number of full-time employees

Employees who work 40 or more hours per week.

Number of part-time employees

Employees who work fewer than 40 hours per week.

How many employees (both full and part-time) were District of Columbia residents?

For questions or assistance regarding this application please email CPAF@cfenterprises.org. The application guide and FAQ can be found here: https://dmped.dc.gov/page/commercial-property-acquisition-fund

10. APLICATION CERTIFICATION

I acknowledge that the CPAF grant program is designed for business applicants to own and occupy the subject commercial property for at least 7 years.

Check here to acknowledge

I acknowledge that the CPAF grant funds can only be applied for downpayment assistance. The grant will not pay for closing costs, fees, development costs, renovations, unpaid taxes, or any other expenses associated with my application or property contract extensions.

Check here to acknowledge

I certify that I have read the District of Columbia Commercial Property Acquisition Fund application materials fully. I understand that not all businesses will be funded through this program. I further certify that I believe my business to be eligible for this grant program.

Check here to acknowledgeApplication materials and FAQ can be found here: https://dmped.dc.gov/page/commercial-property-acquisition-fund

I certify that the information submitted in this application is true and correct to the best of my knowledge. I further understand that any false statements and/or incomplete information may result in denial or revocation of the grant award (if deemed eligible).

Check here to acknowledge

I acknowledge that City First Enterprises Inc., the District of Columbia's funding partner for this grant program, may follow up with my business and any named contacts in this application for additional information. I acknowledge that full approval for this grant program and disbursement of funds to aid in the property purchase, is solely dependent on providing any and all additional information necessary to approve my application for grant funding to City First Enterprises as needed and/or requested.

Check here to acknowledge

A conditional award letter is not guaranteed, even if CFE requests additional information and documents or contacts the business owners and lender.

Check here to acknowledge

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Contact Information

First Name	Last Name
Job Title	Email Address All email communication will be sent to this email address. The business owner needs to have direct access to this email. Do not provide a general business email address. Do not provide a consultant email here. Please save CPAF@cfenterprises.org as trusted sender to ensure emails do not go to the spam folder.

Business Legal Name My business is a: For-ProfitNon-Profit Non-Profits are ineligible for this grant.	Business trade name/transaction name, if different than legal name listed above
Street Address	City
State	Zip Code
Ward Is the Mailing Address the same as the Physical Address listed above? Yes No

Street Address	City
State	Zip Code