|
|
|
| www.downtowndc.org/update |
December 1, 2009 |
|
|
| BID BIZ |
|
This Is It
 The holidays get underway with the most anticipated networking event of the season! The Downtown BID Momentum Awards honoring Downtown leaders, doers and most talked about projects take place Thursday, December 3, from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm. Business owners, developers, city officials, partner organizations and residents will converge at the National Museum for Women in the Arts (1250 New York Avenue) to give peers and visionaries their due.
Amid all the merriment, awards will be presented to: Assistant Police Chief Diane Groomes (Downtown Person of the Year); Washington Capitals (Downtown Experience); DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (Downtown Detail); National Capitol Planning Commission and US Commission of Fine Arts (Downtown Partnership/Program); District Department of Transportation (Public Sector); Douglas Development (Private Sector); W Hotel (Landmark Development Project); and District of Columbia Courts (Landmark Development Project).
Click here to read more about the awards and past recipients.
 Winter Wonderland
You’d better be good - the 2009 Downtown Holiday Market is set to kick off on Friday, December 4 and run through Wednesday, December 23 on F Street, between 7th and 9th, in front of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) and National Portrait Gallery. Market producers, the Downtown BID in partnership with Diverse Market Management, along with media sponsors The Washington Examiner, WAMU and WASH-FM, will be watching.
|
|
|
|
With more than 150 local artisans and exhibitors over the course of 20 days there’s sure to be something to suit for the holiday gift that means so much. Be sure to visit some of the eco-friendly vendors: Three Stone Steps, selling green and fair trade accessories from Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Haiti; The Red Persimmon, promoting fair trade and handmade gifts and accessories from India, Bali, Uganda and Mexico; and The Devil Made Me Do It, selling one-of-a-kind clothing made from 99% "upcycled" materials. Crafts, created from recycled materials, soda cans and hardware, are guaranteed to pique your interest, as will lovely vintage Japanese silk kimonos and Tibetan products, fine art and pottery.
Live entertainment-rock, jazz, gospel, folk, classical blues, bluegrass and reggae-coupled with tasty munchies such as crepes, fresh popped kettle corn, handmade toffee in milk, dark and dark-white chocolate will keep you warm whether you’re shopping or just along for the ride.
Downtown Holiday Market gift certificates make the perfect gift for the "hard to please" on your list. Visit www.downtowndc.org/holiday to find out how to purchase .
 Cultural Corridor
The medians along New York Avenue from 9th to 13th Streets in Downtown are due for a major facelift this winter. The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), at 1250 New York Avenue, has teamed with the Downtown BID, the DC Office of Planning (OP) and other agencies to begin work on the New York Avenue Sculpture Allee Project.
This art project will transform the public environment along one of Downtown’s major boulevards into an outdoor gallery featuring contemporary works by world-renowned women artists. The art will be displayed in temporary installations for one to three years in four medians located between Herald and Mt. Vernon Squares.
"As Downtown continues to transform into a cultural and entertainment district, we want to refocus attention on the quality of experience in public areas and spaces," said Richard H. Bradley, the BID’s executive director. "The sculpture project is a magnificent example of the kind of placemaking that we hope will engage the senses and provide moments of contemplation for workers and guests."
Phase I will be dedicated in the spring to include new landscaping and sculpture pads, which will be constructed in front of the museum. French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle will be the inaugural artist. Her nine- to 15-foot high whimsical and colorful works celebrate women, children, heroes, cultural diversity and love.
The sculpture project will be completed in 2015. Project funding includes support form NMWA, the Downtown BID, Federal Highway Administration and gifts from the Museum’s National Advisory Board Member Medda Gudelsky and the Homer and Martha Gudelsky Family Foundation. The OP helped the Museum with early planning.
For more information about the NMWA, visit www.nmwa.org.
Welcome Aboard
We’ve got a host of new staffers: Andy Ireland, Matt Pearson, Maria Barry, Kirsten Poole and Alissa Greer have signed on to promote Downtown as the best place ever to work! Andy and Matt are both part-time Transportation Program associates. Andy, a former BID Economic Development intern nearly two years ago and a graduate student of applied economics at John Hopkins University, is working on the Streetcar Project. Matt, a professional actor, helps with DC Circular and bike projects.
Maria, Kirsten and Alissa all busy planning the National Cherry Blossom Festival (NCBF), for which the Downtown BID provides office space and staffing support. Maria, the development and corporate sponsorship manager, has extensive experience on issues campaigns, partnership development, special events and communications for such organizations as Hands on Baltimore and Greater DC Care. Kirsten is the new business manager and provides administrative support for BID special events. She is the former owner of Kirsten Café and Dish Caterers and helped, as a consultant, to create and open the Avalon Theater Café in Chevy Chase. Alissa works as the special events coordinator. Before joining NCBF, she worked in promotions at True Oldies 105.9 and MIX 107.3, but is no stranger to the NCBF team-last spring, she managed the Festival’s Tidal Basin stage as a consultant.
 Signs of Appreciation
The Downtown BID often receives words of praise from visitors, workers and residents touched in some way by the help and reassuring presence that our Safety, Hospitality and Maintenance employees, or SAMs, provide on Downtown streets. Here’s a sampling of two such communications about one of our brightest stars, Vivian Morgan (formerly Vivian Brooks), who joined the SAM team in February 2005 and has received an array of positive feedback from visitors throughout the US and abroad. She also is a 2009 SAM of the Year.
|
|
Dear Downtown BID,
Last year, we were [in Washington] for two days; this year, three days; and next time we’ll need about a week. The city is beautiful, and I love the fact that you can visit so many fascinating memorials and museums for free. The people are very friendly and helpful. A red-jacketed concierge named Vivian located at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, near the Federal Triangle Metro, went out of her way to get us exact information on where we wanted to go. We love Washington. Thanks for all the wonderful things you do in this great city!
- Diane Watson
Burlington, Ontario Canada
|
|
|
|
Dear Downtown BID,
I wanted to let you know that I stopped one of the SAM members near the Washington Convention Center to ask for various information about the city. Her name was Vivian and she was the most pleasant person! She was very sweet, and made sure that I got directions to my destination. She noticed that I was by myself, so she even gave me an alternate, and safer, route to get to my destination. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated her thoughtfulness. Thank you for having such a nice service to visitors in your beautiful city. We greatly appreciate it!
- Tina Patel
Elk Grove Village, IL
|
|
|
| DEVELOPMENT DOINGS |
top |
|
 Buying Office Space
Buying office condos is a popular way for small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits to guard against escalating rents in hot or high-priced commercial markets. Since 2007, about half a dozen office buildings in DC sold office condominiums, three of them in the Downtown BID: 1430 K Street, 1522 K Street and 1510 H Street.
The 11-story, 1522 K Street property is the newest addition to the market. Detroit-based MayfieldGentry Realty Advisors, LLC is repositioning and renovating the building, which will have 12 units, conference and fitness facilities and 46 parking spaces once construction is completed in August 2010. Akridge (601 13th Street) is marketing the 91,000 SF building and offering units for sale floor by floor. No units are now under contract, although several non-profit organizations that can access tax-exempt bond financing have expressed interest. Akridge redeveloped and recently sold out the eight-story office condominium building at 1016 16th Street, now home to the Jesuit Conference, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and others.
Fill ‘er Up
And we don’t mean the car. We’re talking about the boutique office building at 1050 K Street, which will add Philips Electronics North America as a tenant early next year.
The Netherlands-based electronics giant has signed a 10-year lease for 6,629 SF. It will join Knoll, The Shaw Group, Baker Daniels law firm and others as a tenant in the 136,000 SF, 11-story glass tower. The building, which has obtained Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification, is 70% leased.
 Up for Sale
After returning to Downtown to occupy a new headquarters building at 1331 L Street last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBAA) now has the building up for sale. The organization cites the economic downturn for a challenging leasing environment. Until they can find a buyer for the 10-story, 170,000 SF building, the association will continue to lease space in the building until 2020. The building has Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold-certification and MBAA and the Soap and Detergent Association, which leases 10,000 SF, occupy 50% of the space. The building’s full conference center offers theater-style seating for 200 and often neighborhood businesses use the facility.
Moving Along
The Office of Planning and the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs have released the final version of the Chinatown Cultural Development Strategy in English and Chinese. The plan provides public and private sector stakeholders with a set of clearly defined strategies to position Chinatown as the regional anchor for Chinese-Asian culture and attractions, with national and international appeal. Public and stakeholder comments submitted during the summer have been incorporated into the revised strategy, which the DC City Council’s Committee of the Whole highly recommended as a Small Area Plan at a Committee hearing last month.
Richard Reinhard, the Downtown BID’s deputy executive director, testified at the hearing that the one-square-mile BID area has experienced tremendous growth. "Yet, this growth that turned Downtown DC into a "24/7" city has in some ways endangered our Chinatown, as new buildings, new uses and new economies have intervened," he said.
"The Chinatown Cultural Development Strategy," he added, "outlines actions that can be taken-by government, by the private sector and by nonprofit organizations like the Downtown BID-to celebrate what remains of Chinatown as an important regional asset."
The plan likely will be voted out of committee soon. The development strategy is expected to go before the full Council this month or next. The plan is now available online. For a hardcopy, e-mail thor.nelson@dc.gov or call 202.741.5241.
|
| DOWNTOWN DISH |
top |
|
Parcels of Deliciousness
Dim sum fans, rejoice. Ping Pong, the London-based dim sum restaurant chain, opens this month at 900 7th Street in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) building. Get ready to chow down. Ping Pong makes up to 30,000 fresh dim sum dishes daily at each location. The Chinatown eatery will be the first to open in the US and also will serve fragrant teas and cocktails. A warning: don’t expect to get edibles from those traditional carts used to wheel around little sweet and savory delicacies. Dim sum, light and varied dishes, are ordered off the menu at this restaurant. For more information, visit www.pingpongdimsum.com.
Pleasure Seekers
Talk about pampering! Talk about indulgence! Co Co. Sala (929 F Street), the trendy lounge and restaurant with the chocolate-infused menu, has partnered with Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas to bring their guests a heavenly experience that combines spa treatments and chocolate decadence. Their first event, Sweet Spa, was held at Co Co. Sala last month and included a special evening of champagne, makeup sessions, nail treatments and lots of sweets—chocolate pumpkin cheesecake lollipops, rum cupcakes, pecan pie and coffee cream parfaits and artisanal chocolates. That event sold out within a matter of days. Another one will follow on December 15 at the Red Door Spa in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Co Co. Sala says its partnership with Red Door Spas includes spas located throughout the metropolitan Washington area, including at the Willard InterContinental Hotel (1401 Pennsylvania Avenue). For more information about Co Co. Sala, visit www.cocosala.com. Red Door’s website address is www.reddoorspas.com.
Down But Not Out?
D’Acqua (801 Pennsylvania Avenue) shut down last month, citing a rent increase as the culprit. Chef-Owner Enzo Febbraro is now looking for another Downtown location to house the Italian restaurant and is working with Madison Retail Group to find about 4,000 SF. Febbraro opened a smaller version of D’Acqua at the Verizon Center (601 F Street) about eight months ago. Also on his plate: a plan to open a Forno Italian Oven & Grill, if he can find 3,5000 SF in Downtown or another close in neighborhood. Febbraro already owns a Forno restaurant in Ashburn, Virginia.
 Trading Spaces
Clyde’s On The Walk, the lunchtime carryout tucked behind Clyde’s of Gallery Place, (707 7th Street) has closed to make way for the restaurant to add another bar to the three existing ones. As part of the region’s highest grossing restaurant group, looks like their business is booming. When completed, patrons will be able to enter the space, tentatively named The Alley Bar, either through Clyde’s or the G Street walkway leading to Gallery Place. The bar is scheduled to open December 9th. For more information about Clyde’s, visit www.clydes.com.
|
| RETAIL RAMBLINGS |
top |
|
Selling the Goods
Downtown’s retail offerings are slowly making gains, according to a recent Downtown BID retail audit. Destination restaurants that support Downtown’s growing cultural and entertainment venues contributed greatly to the increase in occupied retail space, climbing by 50,000 SF from March 2008 to November 2009. In 2008 and 2009, Downtown added a net of 15 new restaurants (13 closed and 28 opened).
 Shoppers’ goods retail also increased to more than 950,000 SF when Peruvian Connection and Guess Jeans opened and Filene’s Basement expanded. Overall, destination shoppers’ goods retailers (which includes these stores, plus Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, west elm, Borders, Barnes and Noble, H&M, Zara, American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft and City Sports) accounted for 530,000 SF. The remaining shoppers’ goods retail per SF consists of gift shops, florists, newsstands, art galleries as well as cellular, electronics, camera and jewelry stores.
Services retail space per SF declined as the CVS at 7th and H Streets, and other smaller retail establishments, closed. Office occupied retail space also declined as the AAA office at 15th Street and New York Avenue became a tourist shop and other smaller retail changes occurred.
The gross vacancy rate remained at 11% of all available retail space (defined as all ground floor space and retail space occupied below ground and on the second floor). The vacancy rate would fall to approximately 8% if vacant space that is currently leased (Carmine’s, Wagamama’s, Galileo II and others) were removed from the audit. The overall vacancy square footage increased due to approximately 100,000 SF of newly delivered retail space, some of which remains vacant, such as 1199 F Street. In addition, several retailers, such as Apartment Zero and Butterfield Nine restaurant, closed.
The CityCenter DC project slated for H Street between 9th and 11th Streets will be the next major change on the Downtown retail landscape. The groundbreaking currently is projected for late 2010 or early 2011 and will include approximately 350,000 SF of retail space (approximately 200,000 SF in Phase I and another 150,000 SF in Phase II).
| Highlights From the November 2009 Downtown DC Retail Audit |
Change |
| |
November 2009 |
March 2008 |
Square Feet |
% |
| Occupied Retail Space Square Footage |
2,108,000 |
2,054,000 |
54,000 |
3% |
| Restaurants |
604,000 |
554,000 |
50,000 |
9% |
| Vacant Space |
312,000 |
300,000 |
(12,000) |
(4)% |
| Vacancy Rate |
11% |
11% |
|
|
Filling a Void
Habla Espanol? Then you may be interested in the Inter-American Development Bank’s new bookstore, which opened last month at 1350 New York Avenue. Portico is a joint venture between the bank and Fondo de Cultura Economica, Mexico’s leading publishing house and one of the most important publishers in Latin America. The bookstore offers more than 10,000 books, most of them in Spanish, and is open Monday through Friday, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. For more information, call 202.312.4186.
|
| AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD |
top |
|
 A Downtown Pioneer
The Downtown BID extends heartfelt condolences to the family of Abe Pollin, the visionary businessman who helped spur Downtown’s magnificent renaissance more than a dozen years ago. Mr. Pollin died at the end of November, but his extraordinary contributions to the Downtown community are enduring. In 1997, the chairman of Washington Sports & Entertainment literally bet his future on Downtown by building the $220 million MCI Center (now Verizon Center) at 601 F Street, home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, which he moved from Landover, Maryland. At the time, Downtown was less than vibrant, inviting and safe. The new sports and entertainment arena was the first big, transformative project that helped to catalyze more Downtown development. Its opening drew record crowds, attracting sports fans from every ward of the city and suburbanites, who returned to the inner city for the first time in years. Mr. Pollin’s memory is forever etched in Downtown’s heart. In 2007, Mayor Adrian Fenty unveiled F Street between 6th and 7th Streets as "Abe Pollin Way."
Washington Sports & Entertainment will hold a public memorial service at the Verizon Center on Tuesday, December 8. For more information, visit www.verizoncenter.com.
Artful Calling
Huge kudos to the Rhodes Tavern-DC Heritage Society for helping to enliven Downtown streets. The civic organization recently adopted four antique fire call boxes and has restored three into mini art showcases. You can check out the call boxes, which are located at: 15th and F Streets, depicting British soldiers around the historic Rhodes Tavern that was  demolished in 1984; 10th and F Streets, near Ford’s Theatre (511 10th Street), honoring Abraham Lincoln on the 200th anniversary of his birth; and 15th Street and New York Avenue, showing Downtown DC in 1801. A fourth call box on 15th and G Streets will feature inaugural parades. The call boxes were installed first in 1860 to enhance public safety. They fell into disuse in 1976 when the city instituted the 911 emergency call system.
The Downtown BID promotes the creative use of public spaces, and these wrought-iron boxes are an innovative way to transform untended and often vandalized historic boxes into art. In September, Cultural Tourism DC (1250 H Street) distributed the last Art on Call grants to seven organizations, including Rhodes Tavern-DC Heritage Society, to convert 21 call boxes into neighborhood icons, adding to the 122 completed boxes already throughout the city. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities now has responsibility for the program and will manage the next phase.
The call boxes cost about $2,000 each to restore, although the maximum allowable grant amount is $1,000 per call box. Joseph N. Grano, president of the Rhodes Tavern-DC Heritage Society, solicited additional funding from businesses located near the call boxes, including Madame Tussauds (1025 F Street); Old Ebbitt Grill (675 15th Street); and PNC Bank (1503 Pennsylvania Avenue), each of which donated $500. In addition, John P. Cosgrove, former president of the National Press Club (529 14th Street), contributed $500 on behalf of that organization, which occupied the Rhodes Tavern from 1909 to 1914. Douglas Jemal, president of Douglas Development (702 H Street); Austin Kiplinger, journalist and philanthropist; and the Association of Oldest Inhabitants also were large contributors.
Snapshot in History
Cultural Tourism DC (1250 H Street), the independent nonprofit coalition of more than 230 culture, heritage and community organizations throughout the nation’s capital, celebrated its 10th anniversary at the historic Decatur House on Lafayette Square. This year, the small but powerful institution that helps us all experience DC’s vibrant culture and heritage beyond the monuments, unveiled its tenth neighborhood heritage trail, in Columbia Heights, and marked the tenth year of Walking Tour DC, which has grown from 55 to 120 free tours of local neighborhoods. Mark your 2010 calendar for another great year ahead with the Embassy Chef Challenge, Passport DC and new Tenleytown and Georgia Avenue Heritage Trail Launches. For more information, visit www.CulturalTourismDC.org.
No More Perks
Free parking spaces available to the public at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (901 G Street) were one of the best-kept secrets in Downtown. Now they are no more. The library has announced that the public would no longer be permitted to use the parking lot, which has 100 dedicated parking spaces, some of which are reserved for staff. Disappointed visitors can use the Metro Center and Gallery Place Metro stations. Paid parking is also available nearby. Oh, well.
Work is Just a Bowl of Cherries
Every two years, Washingtonian magazine publishes its "Great Places to Work" list. This year, five Downtown companies out of 50 Washington metropolitan area firms made the cut. The Downtown winners included law firms, staffing firms and a federal agency. The magazine considered more than 200 employers and reviewed more than 13,000 confidential employee surveys. In the end, winning workplaces scored well on things that keep staff satisfied: good pay and benefits, flexibility, challenging work, recognition and respect, and the chance to learn and grow.
 Downtown’s best workplaces are:
| • |
Arnold & Porter (555 12th Street) - the nation’s first law firm to open an on-site daycare center is repeatedly recognized as one of the best law firms for parents. |
| • |
Covington & Burling (1201 Pennsylvania Avenue) - allows lawyers to count some of their pro bono work toward their billable-hours targets; runs a daycare a block from the office, sponsors annual health fairs and is big on corporate giving. |
| • |
HireStrategy (1121 14th Street) - one of the nation’s fastest growing firms has a team-based, open, entrepreneurial spirit; people work and play hard-meeting yearly goals wins a free winter trip. |
| • |
The Midtown Group (900 7th Street) - No rewards are spared: incentive trips, bonuses, quarterly prizes, happy hours, and sabbaticals. Everyone starts with 22 vacation days-but can earn more! |
| • |
Internal Revenue Service (1111 Constitution Avenue) - Today’s IRS has a more upbeat and happy workforce and offers on-site child care and a gym and flexible work arrangements. |
Raising the Bar
Congratulations to two Downtown winners of the 5th Annual Washington Metropolitan Association of Corporate Counsel (WMACCA) Awards, which are presented to leading in-house lawyers and legal departments. Michael J. Huppe, executive vice president and general counsel at SoundExchange Inc. (1121 14th Street), a non-profit organization that collects royalty payments from music services, won in the Outstanding Chief Legal Officer category. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (950 F Street), a trade association, walked away with Outstanding Law Department honors.
|
| GREEN GAINS |
top |
|
Bagging It
Downtown retailers take note. If you sell food or alcohol, you must charge customers five cents for each carryout plastic or paper bag that you distribute beginning January 1, 2010. There also are rules governing the type of bags that can be used. According to the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act, plastic and paper bags must be 100% recyclable and 40% post-consumer recycled content, respectively-and each bag must carry a phrase that encourages recycling. Why all the hoopla? Disposable plastic bags are one of the largest sources of litter in the Anacostia River. Proceeds from the carryout bag fee will go into the new Department of the Environment (DDOE) Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Fund to clean and protect the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers and Rock Creek and provide reusable bags to residents.
The law applies to all grocery, liquor and drug stores, restaurants and street vendors. The fees are not subject to the DC sales tax. Retailers must remit collected customers fees on DC sales and use tax returns on a new line that has been added for the period beginning on or after January 1, 2010. For more information about specific requirements and exemptions, visit green.dc.gov/bags or contact the Office of Tax Revenue 202.724.4TAX.
 Cash for Customers
Pepco (701 9th Street) has a message for its commercial and industrial customers: you are not alone. The electric company is offering cash incentives to customers to offset some of the project costs associated with installing energy efficient equipment and systems in their buildings, including lighting, heating, air conditioning and motors. Two Downtown buildings, the Columbia Square Building (553 13th Street) and The Evening Star Building (1101 Pennsylvania Avenue) received combined cash incentives exceeding $143,000 in the first year of the project. The Energy Efficiency Incentive Program is open to all commercial and industrial customers who have not already started the installation process. Technical assistance also is available under the program, which has a $12.7 million budget through 2011. For more information, visit www.Pepco.com/business.
Staying Above Water
Federal stimulus dollars continue to work their magic in DC. The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) and the DC Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) received more than $38.9 million in US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funds to improve aging water infrastructure. DDOE received $14.6 million for sustainable clean water projects. DC WASA obtained $24.4 million to improve DC’s drinking water distribution system and build sustainable infrastructure to control stormwater runoff. The Chesapeake Bay and watershed stand to benefit handsomely from the funds, which will be used to help reduce excess nutrients. Nutrients are present in animal and human waste and chemical fertilizers. Excess amounts contribute to the most extensive pollution problem affecting the Chesapeake Bay and create conditions that are harmful for blue crabs, bay grasses and other underwater life. For more information on EPA’s stimulus funding for DC, visit http://recovery.dc.gov/recovery/default.asp.
Green Benefits
The Greater Washington Board of Trade is rolling out a CarbonCut pilot program by January that will benefit local environmental projects only. The goal is to stop carbon-offset payments from being sent overseas. Instead, locally based green activities, such as planting trees, installing compact fluorescent light bulbs and giving low-income homes energy-efficient makeovers, will prevail. Initially, the Board of Trade will limit the pilot to a core group of 15 to 20 companies represented on its Green Committee. If all goes well, the program will expand to include other Board of Trade members before being introduced to other regional companies. The Board will accept carbon offset payments from companies interested in reducing their carbon footprint, then purchase materials and find contractors and volunteers to put the money to good use locally, where its environmental impact can be measured and receiving projects verified.
|
| TRANSPORTATION TALK |
top |
|
 Streetcar Enthusiasts
Twenty-five DC business, government and community leaders, including Downtown BID executives, participated in a study tour of successful streetcar systems in Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, last month. Meetings with managers, employees and other city officials focused on all aspects of streetcar system design, funding, use and service, including the systems’ positive impact on jobs and development.
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) believes streetcars will spur economic development in DC and make it easier for residents to move between neighborhoods to access jobs, shopping and other destinations. Portland’s streetcar line attracted some 100 projects worth $2.3 billion in less than five years, all within two blocks of the streetcar line. The projects included 7,248 housing units and 4.6 million SF of office space and retail. In Seattle, property values within three blocks of the line rose at higher rates than similar properties within the city. In addition to connecting people to Downtown areas, the streetcars are a proven, environmentally friendly technology in both cities, where they help relieve traffic congestion, improve air quality and reduce noise pollution.
DDOT has already begun laying tracks on two streetcar lines, along South Capitol Street in Anacostia and H Street NE near Capitol Hill. The 1.5-mile Anacostia line is expected to begin service in 2012. Eventually, DC, which had a robust streetcar network until 1962, could have 37 miles of tracks, with a total of eight lines.
A Different Path
Public spaces need not be boring. Just ask the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), which recently selected 10 unique projects to receive funding through the agency’s Transportation Enhancement Project to strengthen the cultural, aesthetic and environmental aspects of the nation’s intermodal transportation system. Three Downtown organizations-the Downtown BID, the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) at 1250 New York Avenue, and Cultural Tourism DC (1250 H Street)-walked away with grants, which range from $50,000 to $579,500 this year.
The Museum plans to develop an allée of major contemporary sculptures and related improvements in the medians along New York Avenue from 9th to 13th Streets. Cultural Tourism is planning, designing and installing self-guided neighborhood historic and cultural trails and signs, and the BID is making streetscape improvements to Reservation 72, better known as Chinatown Park, located between 5th and 6th Streets and Massachusetts Avenue. Information about the grant recipients is available at www.ddot.dc.gov.
The Federal Highway Administration’s Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) provided $2 million to fund the projects. Each transportation enhancement project had to: 1) relate to surface transportation; 2) meet at least one of 12 eligible activities, including those geared toward bicycle and pedestrian facilities and historic preservation; and 3) conform with DC agencies’ mission, policies and plans of DC agencies, such as DDOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans or the Office of Planning’s Comprehensive Plan.
Applications for fiscal year 2011 grants will be accepted beginning in May 2010 and taken through August 2010. For more information, contact Colleen Hawkinson at colleen.hawkinson@dc.gov or 202.671.2228.
 Two-Wheel Makeover
DC got its first protected bike lane on 15th Street between Massachusetts Avenue and U Street last month. Now that the precedent has been set, the Downtown BID is requesting that the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) also provide protected bike lanes on L and I Streets. "New cyclists in Downtown need more separation from motorized traffic than the typical painted bike lanes that DC has relied upon the past 40 years," said Ellen Jones, the Downtown BID’s director of transportation. Protected bike lanes are close to the curb, away from vehicular traffic and shielded by a parking lane. The concept already has taken hold in New York, Montreal and Madison, Wisconsin.
Bike City
The Downtown BID and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) sponsored a joint bike design seminar last month for DDOT engineers who design and build bicycle facilities in the city. Hayes Lord, bicycle coordinator for the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT), was the featured speaker. NYC DOT is constructing 200 miles of bike lanes in three years. Commuter cyclists in the city have increased by 38% in the past year alone. The innovative bike facility designs that NYC DOT has piloted are winning international acclaim.
 With the steady increase in the number of DC cyclists, DDOT Director Gabe Klein told seminar attendees the city plans to expand the SmartBike DC bike-sharing program tenfold in fiscal year 2010, from 10 to 100 kiosks, extending out from the Center City. SmartBike DC, the nation’s first self-service public bike rental program, provides an alternative transportation network for the city’s workers, residents and visitors. DDOT, in partnership with Clear Channel Outdoor, has four of the existing 10 kiosks in Downtown near the Gallery Place, Judiciary Square, Metro Center and McPherson Square Metrorail stations.
Richard Bradley, executive director of the Downtown BID, spoke about the next steps for Downtown. "Increasing bicycle use in Downtown DC is the goal of a 2010 Downtown Bicycle Action plan," he said. "The strategy that this plan will rely upon includes figuring out what works, like bicycle parking, and constructing more of it, as well as deciding what hasn’t worked, like the 7th Street bikeway, and constructing something better."
In his welcoming remarks, Bradley pledged to match the number of bike parking racks that DDOT plans to install in Downtown DC to reach the goal of 200 new racks in 2010. He also announced a new bicycle-assistance training component for Downtown Safety, Hospitality and Maintenance employees, or SAMs, to boost Downtown DC’s bicycle friendliness.
For more information about SmartBike DC, visit www.smartbikedc.com.
Timely Ride
When old Metro buses go the way of the zoot suit, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), typically recycles or sells them for scrap metal. Not so for two, 15-year-old buses, which were donated recently to the DC Department of Human Services (DHS) to be used to transport homeless people to shelters-just in time for the nasty hypothermia season. Chronically homeless individuals suffering from mental health, compromised medical health and substance abuse problems are extremely susceptible to hypothermia, a life threatening condition. The buses also will be a part of DHS’s Hypothermia Watch Partner Program, an outreach initiative that increases awareness about homeless individuals’ needs during the hypothermia season, which runs November 1 through March 31. If you know of someone who needs help, call the city’s Hypothermia Hotline at 800.535.7252 for assistance.
|
| NEWS YOU CAN USE |
top |
|
Raking in the Dough
Thanks to the number crunchers over at the Washington Business Journal and The Washington Examiner, we now know, if we didn’t before, that money might not be an obstacle for many metropolitan Washington area residents-even in rough economic times. The Washington area has among the highest percentage of high-income households in the nation, according to the Journal, which compiled and analyzed data from the US Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey. The report found that 11.4% of regional households had annual incomes exceeding $200,000. Only households in San Jose, California (13.4%) and the Bridgeport-Stamford area of Connecticut (16.8%) had more. San Francisco was the only other metropolitan area with high-income households in the double digits, with 11%.
Using the same Census survey, the Examiner found that Maryland residents were the wealthiest in the nation last year with median household incomes approaching $71,000. Virginia ranked 8th (about $61,000) and DC placed 12th (near $58,000). The exact DC figure was $57,936, up from $54,317 in 2007.
Young, Gifted ... and DC Bound?
DC ties with Seattle as the No. 1 "post-recession mecca" for highly mobile 20-somethings once the US economy sails out of the doldrums. Barack Obama, federal government hiring and jobs in lobbying, aerospace, defense contracting and professional services are a big draw for educated 18 to 29 year olds, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. The newspaper asked several experts-demographers, economists, geographers and authors on urban issues-to identify 10 cities that will emerge as the hottest, hippest destinations among young people. The panelists chose cities based on factors ranging from economic diversity to lifestyle. DC’s very own Barbara Lang, president and chief executive officer of the DC Chamber of Commerce (1213 K Street) was asked to weigh in on the survey results. Her observation: "Much of Wall Street is now moving to K Street." New York ranked No. 3, followed by Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas.
|
| MEETINGS AND MORE |
top |
|
Wednesday, December 2, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Washington Business Journal
CFO of the Year
W Hotel
515 15th Street
The Washington Business Journal will honor the top chief financial officers in greater Washington, including two Downtown finalists, Mark L. Wetzel with DuPont Fabros Technology Inc. and Eleanor Rutland with Venture Philanthropy Partners. The awards presentation will begin at 7:00 pm, followed by a cocktail networking reception. Tickets are $125. To register, visit http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/event/5904. For more information, contact Mike LaRosa at 703.258-0854 or e-mail WBJevents@bizjournals.com.
|
|
Friday, December 4, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Washington, DC Economic Partnership
2009 Annual Meeting & Development Showcase
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place
Join the Washington, DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP) as it celebrates DC’s renaissance by awarding top development in key market segments and offering developers, brokers and real estate professionals a chance to display and showcase their DC-based development projects. James Chung, president of Reach Advisors, a marketing strategy and research firm, will deliver this year’s keynote luncheon address. Chung will discuss how changing demographics and the expectations of future generations will impact private developers and city planners. Individual tickets cost $80; corporate tables are $1,000. To register, visit http://www.wdcep.com. For more information, contact Keith Sellars at ksellars@wdcep.com or 202.661.8684.
|
|
Wednesday, December 16, 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
DC Chamber of Commerce
2009 Annual Meeting & Chairman’s Inaugural
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place
Don’t miss this year’s DC Chamber of Commerce annual meeting luncheon that brings together the leadership and membership to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year and launch new initiatives. The luncheon also provides the chance to salute the Chamber’s Board of Directors, inaugurate the new Chairman of the Board and recognize many outstanding and dedicated committee members and volunteers. Members pay $75; nonmembers pay $125. To register, visit www.dcchamber.org. For more information, contact Annette Coram at acoram@dcchamber.org or 202.624.0605.
|
|
|
top
|
xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
|
