diff --git a/build/NuSpecs/WindowsAppSDK-Nuget-Native.AutoInitializer.targets b/build/NuSpecs/WindowsAppSDK-Nuget-Native.AutoInitializer.targets
index ae3313a43a..98348847f3 100644
--- a/build/NuSpecs/WindowsAppSDK-Nuget-Native.AutoInitializer.targets
+++ b/build/NuSpecs/WindowsAppSDK-Nuget-Native.AutoInitializer.targets
@@ -2,17 +2,18 @@
 <!-- Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE in the project root for license information. -->
 <Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
 
-  <Target Name="WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializer">
-    <ItemGroup>
-      <ClCompile Include="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\..\include\WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializer.cpp">
-        <PrecompiledHeader>NotUsing</PrecompiledHeader>
-        <PreprocessorDefinitions Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkBootstrapInitialize)'=='true'">MICROSOFT_WINDOWSAPPSDK_AUTOINITIALIZE_BOOTSTRAP;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
-        <PreprocessorDefinitions Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkDeploymentManagerInitialize)'=='true'">MICROSOFT_WINDOWSAPPSDK_AUTOINITIALIZE_DEPLOYMENTMANAGER;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
-        <PreprocessorDefinitions Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkUndockedRegFreeWinRTInitialize)'=='true'">MICROSOFT_WINDOWSAPPSDK_AUTOINITIALIZE_UNDOCKEDREGFREEWINRT;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
-        <PreprocessorDefinitions Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkCompatibilityInitialize)'=='true'">MICROSOFT_WINDOWSAPPSDK_AUTOINITIALIZE_COMPATIBILITY;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
-      </ClCompile>
-    </ItemGroup>
-  </Target>
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerPath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\..\include\WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializer.cpp</WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerPath>
+
+    <!-- If any option is set that needs to add a preprocessor definition, enable 'WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled' -->
+    <WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkBootstrapInitialize)'=='true'">true</WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled>
+    <WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkDeploymentManagerInitialize)'=='true'">true</WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled>
+    <WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkUndockedRegFreeWinRTInitialize)'=='true'">true</WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled>
+    <WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkCompatibilityInitialize)'=='true'">true</WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled>
+
+    <!-- If no options are set that require the auto-initializer, and a consumer hasn't explicitly set it, default to 'false' -->
+    <WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled Condition="'$(WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled)'==''">false</WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled>
+  </PropertyGroup>
 
   <PropertyGroup>
     <BeforeClCompileTargets>
@@ -20,4 +21,23 @@
     </BeforeClCompileTargets>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
+  <ItemDefinitionGroup>
+    <!-- Add the appropriate definition to the ClCompile ItemDefinitionGroup to apply to all compilations -->
+    <ClCompile>
+      <PreprocessorDefinitions Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkBootstrapInitialize)'=='true'">MICROSOFT_WINDOWSAPPSDK_AUTOINITIALIZE_BOOTSTRAP;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
+      <PreprocessorDefinitions Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkDeploymentManagerInitialize)'=='true'">MICROSOFT_WINDOWSAPPSDK_AUTOINITIALIZE_DEPLOYMENTMANAGER;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
+      <PreprocessorDefinitions Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkUndockedRegFreeWinRTInitialize)'=='true'">MICROSOFT_WINDOWSAPPSDK_AUTOINITIALIZE_UNDOCKEDREGFREEWINRT;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
+      <PreprocessorDefinitions Condition="'$(WindowsAppSdkCompatibilityInitialize)'=='true'">MICROSOFT_WINDOWSAPPSDK_AUTOINITIALIZE_COMPATIBILITY;%(PreprocessorDefinitions)</PreprocessorDefinitions>
+    </ClCompile>
+  </ItemDefinitionGroup>
+
+  <!-- If WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled is true add a Target to add the WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializer.cpp file -->
+  <Target Name="WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializer" Condition=" '$(WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerEnabled)'=='true' ">
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <ClCompile Include="$(WindowsAppRuntimeAutoInitializerPath)">
+        <PrecompiledHeader>NotUsing</PrecompiledHeader>
+      </ClCompile>
+    </ItemGroup>
+  </Target>
+
 </Project>