Along with the Downtown businesses that welcomed nearly 2 million visitors with style, grace and warmth, the SAMs helped to maintain order and create a remarkable urban experience for all during the momentous occasion in the history of our nation and our city. The SAMs, who number more than 100, were out in force, armed with information to help move the masses along and find their destinations. They demonstrated for the world what they do best.

On January 20, 34 Safety and Hospitality SAMs assisted more than 20,000 visitors who poured through nine manned Metrorail stations and five security checkpoints in the Downtown BID area. On average, the SAMs assist about 16,500 visitors per month. They provided updated information about transit accessibility, security checkpoints, disseminated maps and fielded thousands of visitors’ questions.

After the Inauguration, Maintenance SAMs immediately set about returning Downtown to normalcy, sweeping and picking up trash. All told, 40 Maintenance SAMs bagged 19 tons of trash—twice the daily collection, excluding trash collected by the Department of Public Works (DPW). Many worked 15-hour shifts to get the job done.

The Maintenance SAMs remained vigilant, as they were overwhelmed with packed trash receptacles and debris, particularly along the busy vending and food corridors on E, G, K and 14th Streets. In the midst of restricted security zones and enormous crowds, they worked diligently to keep curb lines free of refuge and filled to capacity a five-ton compactor. They transported several hundred bags of debris to a designated site coordinated through DPW.

“There’s a reason we call our SAMs the eyes, ears and caretakers of Downtown,” said Bradley. “They are second to none when it comes to mobilizing in force to ensure that the visitor experience in the heart of the Nation’s Capitol is a pleasant and engaging one. We’re very proud of the excellent job they did.”

The BID’s Homeless Services department collaborated with the city to move homeless persons inside from the cold and keep shelters open 24 hours through Wednesday. Special Events worked with the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (801 Mount Vernon Place) and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (1350 Pennsylvania Avenue) to lease the City Center Lot at 11th and H Streets to the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) and InauguralFest; provided consult to the PIC transportation team; volunteered at Inaugural events; and provided referrals for private events seeking venues and logistical information for event producers. Our transportation department worked to gain longer Metro hours and alternative transportation. 

The BID worked with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, other local organizations and the District Department of Transportation to provide free bike valet parking at 16th Street between H and I Streets, where 1,000 bikes were parked.

A record 1.2 million passengers rode the Metrorail system on January 20. Many traveled to or departed from one of four Metrorail stations located in the Downtown BID area that were open. Half of the 20 Metrorail station entrances located within two miles of the Inauguration area are inside the Downtown BID area.

Many restaurants and hotels benefited from record crowds that converged on Downtown neighborhoods. Retail numbers are not available currently, but several restaurants anecdotally reported a twofold increase in the number of diners who visited their establishments! Hotel occupancy rates were certainly up. 

Homeless Milestones
The US Interagency Council on Homelessness cites the Downtown BID leadership paper in its 08 in 08 publication, part of a program to recognize innovative initiatives that help prevent and end homelessness. The Downtown BID’s effort to move the homeless into housing is one of eight programs nationwide that the Council applauds for using best practices to eliminate homelessness. For a copy of the homeless leadership paper, visit www.downtowndc.org/leadership#4.

Meanwhile, the BID continues to make progress on the homeless front. Preliminary results of a homeless enumeration taken on January 28 show roughly 80 homeless people were living on Downtown streets at night. This compares with 137 recorded in January 2008—about a 38.5% decline. Downtown SAMs, Metropolitan Police Department officers, other city government employees and volunteers conducted the count. To assess the number of homeless people living on streets throughout the US, simultaneous enumerations took place across the city and the nation.

The Downtown BID’s Homeless Services Team has been working for two years to reduce the number of people living on Downtown streets by using a pragmatic, street-to-independence outreach program that moves the chronically homeless into permanent supportive housing. The Housing First strategy, an innovative and progressive approach to end chronic homelessness, seems to be working. In a partnership with Pathways to Housing DC, more than 265 people have been moved from the streets. Some were placed in permanent supportive housing; others were moved to transitional housing or shelters, or out-of-DC homeless individuals were assisted in returning home to their home states. 
 
The Downtown BID and Pathways to Housing DC are also working to develop first-step housing for the homeless, consisting of individual sleeping and shared living space—another innovative approach being proposed to the DC Department of Human Services. This type of transient housing provides a temporary refuge until more permanent supportive housing can be found. In partnership with the DC Department of Mental Health, Pathways to Housing DC and the Downtown BID are working to open two single room occupancy (SRO) facilities with efficiency apartments. 

In addition, the Downtown Homeless Services Team is working with the DC Public Library, including Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (901 G Street), to develop an outreach program to address the sometimes conflicting needs of the library’s staff and the dire needs of the homeless individuals who frequently use libraries for temporary refuge.

Think Pink
Ignore the freezing temperatures and mark your calendar to get ready for the National Cherry Blossom Festival ®, DC and Downtown’s signature springtime event. The two-week celebration will bloom Saturday, March 28, and end Sunday, April 12. More than a million revelers turn out annually for the occasion, which continues to grow and dazzle, gaining increased global prestige and community support. This year’s events will once again feature citywide activities filled with cultural demonstrations, performances, art exhibits, fireworks, international cuisine, athletic competitions and, of course, The National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade®, taking place on Saturday, April 4—about a week before the festivities end.

Don’t miss the pre-festival fundraiser—the third annual Pink Tie Party dinner and silent auction on Wednesday, March 11, at The Liaison Capitol Hill (415 New Jersey Avenue), an Affinia Hotel. Celebrity chef Art Smith of Art and Soul will host the gala, featuring a sneak preview of Washington’s top chefs and their “cherry picks,” cherry-inspired dishes and cocktails. Tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds from this event will help underwrite Festival programs. For more information and to purchase tickets, email ncbf@downtowndc.org, or visit www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/pinktie.

The Downtown BID provides a home and critical staffing support for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. This year, Target will become a presenting sponsor of the Festival for the eighth consecutive year, and Southwest Airlines will return for a sixth year to present the Parade. Other sponsors confirming their support include Shiseido, Japan’s largest cosmetics company, and State Farm, which will again sponsor a special postcard writing campaign for visitors to mail free of charge to US troops overseas.

Beauty and the Streets
The Downtown BID has completed a design plan requiring about $7 million in streetscape improvements for Downtown. This latest design phase, which includes streetlights, sidewalks, trash and recycling cans, bike racks and trees, follows more than $31 million in public-private investments made from 1999 through 2007. So far, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has approved the construction drawings for the proposed Downtown Streetscape Project. Although city funding is still needed, the Federal Highway Administration is ready to fund 80% of the project.

The design phase area stretches from 5th Street on the east to 9th Street on the west, and Massachusetts Avenue on the north to Indiana Avenue on the south, and two blocks of 14th Street, from K Street to Thomas Circle. The scope of proposed work spans 46 blocks and includes plans to replace 15 sidewalks and add new and upgraded handicap ramps where sidewalks are being replaced, 170 streetlights, 35 high wattage lights in Chinatown, 60 teardrop lights at intersections and 46 new and additional trash cans and 37 recycling cans.

Jobs for Youth
Looking to diversify your workforce, coddle novel ideas, get a leg up on new technology and, perhaps, train future employees? Look no further. The Mayor’s 2009 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) has several hundred solutions for you. This summer, the program hopes to place 1,000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 21 in private sector jobs. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development will spearhead this year’s effort. The DC Department of Employment Services (DOES) will continue to administer other facets of the program, which is free to potential employers—the city pays all student wages.

In other major changes this year, businesses will be able to post positions on a SYEP job board, along with qualifications or ranking factors that youth must meet to be hired. Businesses also can become more involved in the recruitment process, including ranking applicants and conducting interviews. The city will recruit students through previously untapped resources, including area universities and colleges, and start the program much earlier by opening registration in mid-February. For more information, contact Natalie Martirosian at Natalie.martirosian@dc.gov or 202.256.1979, or Sri Sekar at Sri.sekar@dc.gov or 202.727.6934.

In past years, the Downtown BID actively has supported the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program. We look forward to having a group of young people join us again this summer for the chance to experience firsthand business challenges and opportunities in their hometown. Many college students have worked with Downtown BID programs as office assistants and with Downtown SAMs as hospitality and information aides, learning customer service skills and building knowledge of Downtown attractions and services.

“It’s extremely important that local businesses give young DC residents the opportunity to gain skills necessary to compete successfully in today’s labor market,” said Richard Bradley, the Downtown BID’s executive director.  “In the long run, the students, our local economy, communities and city benefit.”

Square Deal
It’s no secret that Douglas Development (702 H Street) has accumulated several dozen properties since the early ‘90s in the heart of Mount Vernon Triangle. Little by little, plans for how it will develop holdings in the area bound by the 600 blocks of New York Avenue and L Street and the 1000 blocks of 6th and 7th Streets, are emerging. The company has proposed to transform the area into a high-energy retail mix with offices, sidewalk cafes and themed entertainment—all just a block or two east of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (801 Mount Vernon Place). Creating much buzz: the prospect of a phenomenal entertainment anchor with an entrance on 7th and K Streets. The House of Blues? Douglas Development is mum.  

However, this much is known: such a sweeping transformation would profoundly benefit Downtown, connecting the vibrant and inviting gathering places along 7th Street—from Penn Quarter to Chinatown to Mount Vernon Triangle—and helping create a critical mass of shopper’s goods retail, the one sector of the Downtown economy that has yet to achieve regional success. Currently, a total of 815,000 square feet of retail space is either planned or under construction in Downtown. The Douglas Development proposal, with 400,000 square feet of retail, bodes well for ongoing efforts to create an emerging Downtown shopping district.

The company plans to preserve the historic structures on 7th Street in a fashion similar to those restored near Gallery Place; keep all retail to ground levels; build 900 parking spaces throughout the buildings; and work with the Convention Center to enliven the 7th Street corridor. So far, the plans exclude housing, and Douglas Development is trying to win relief from requirements to build it. Another big challenge: securing financing in a down economy. But the company envisions construction could begin in two years or more, depending on how well its plan is received by the Historic Preservation Review Board. Douglas Development expects to present changes to its conceptual plan in March.

Chinatown Champions
Although Chinatown has about 600 residents, thousands of people identify with the area as the cultural heart of DC’s Asian population, including 2,000 Asian Americans citywide and several thousand across the region. Yet, many would agree that Chinatown is not meeting its full potential. That’s about to change. A collaborative effort is now underway to create a Chinatown Cultural Development Strategy. Led by the DC Office of Planning and the Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, with major input from the Downtown BID, other city agencies and community and business stakeholders, the parties involved expect to have a comprehensive plan in place this summer for city approval.

DC Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray initiated the process to develop short- and long-term measures to preserve, enhance and expand the Asian presence in Chinatown. The project, which provides strategies to help reposition Chinatown as the region’s top destination for Chinese-Asian cultural businesses, programs, services, events and festivals, has brought several stakeholders together to begin setting clearly defined strategies that focus on five goals: creating a Chinatown cultural experience; making Chinatown an exciting and engaging place; promoting Chinatown businesses; improving services to support living, shopping and recreation in Chinatown; and working together.

So far, the parties have set up three separate committees—Business and Economic Development, Arts and Culture and Design and the Public Realm—each of which has met at least twice. The plan now being developed will include creative strategies for signage, architecture and public spaces, as well as strategies and tools for enhancing Chinatown as a destination. For more information about the exciting proposals being developed, visit www.planning.dc.gov.

New Arrival
Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack, LLP, the intellectual property law firm, is moving to The Executive Building, located at 1030 15th Street. The law firm has signed a 10-year lease and will settle into 16,000 square feet of space at its new home later this month. The new glass and stone building offers a fitness center, concierge service, 24-hour security and private balconies. Wenderoth has outgrown its office space at 2033 K Street. Its staff has grown from 32 to 55—and more will come on board in a few months. Wenderoth primarily works on patent and trademark prosecution for clients located in Japan and Europe. Welcome to the Downtown BID!

Awarding Excellence
The Washington Business Journal is accepting nominations for the Best Real Estate Deals of 2008 awards. The honors recognize the region’s most prominent real estate projects closed in the previous year. Last year, along with sponsors Beers + Cutler, Reed Smith and green sponsors Systems Furniture Gallery and Hon Co., the Journal recognized several Downtown BID area projects from among the more than 100 deals nominated in 11 different categories—including Architecture, Retail Deal, Financing and New Office Development. All projects will be judged based on a variety of criteria, including size, complexity, challenges overcome and environmental sustainability. For questions, contact Mike LaRosa at mlarosa@bizjournals.com or 703.258.0854. More information, including nominating forms, is available at www.washington.bizjournals.com.

Cha, Cha, Cha
Celebrity chef Todd English plans to open a new restaurant this month in the chic Donovan House (1155 14th Street), a Thompson Hotel. It will be called Cha, meaning “tea” in Chinese. The restaurant will offer sushi, creative Asian fusion cuisine and an extensive sake menu. English, best known for his Cooking with Todd English cooking show and his flagship restaurant, Olives, has tapped Sam Hazen, formerly with Tao, to be the chef. The 130-seat restaurant and bar will be one of several that have opened Downtown within the past year. It joins Mazu (1100 New York Avenue), Sei (444 7th Street) and Asia Nine (915 E Street). For more information, contact the Donovan House at 202.737.1200.

Italian Wonder
Butterfield 9 (600 14th Street) is gone, but the space it vacated last year will soon house the culinary cuisine of award-winning chef Roberto Donna. Donna used to operate Galileo, the upscale Italian restaurant he ran for more than two decades. Although the restaurant has long been out of sight, it is not out of mind. The new one will have some variation of the Galileo name and ambiance when it opens in April or May, including an intimate restaurant-within-a-restaurant, Laboratorio del Galileo. Donna, born in the Piedmont region of Italy, has operated no fewer than six acclaimed restaurants in the Washington area and was a 1996 James Beard Award winning chef and restaurateur. Visit his website at www.robertodonna.com.

Guess Who’s Coming …
More retail is sprouting on F Street. Guess, the trendy, upscale apparel, denim and accessory store, will open this spring in a new Douglas Development (702 H Street) office building located at 1155 F Street, on DC’s oldest retail corridor. Guess, which started as a small California jeans store, is the first retailer to sign on at the 12-story, 250,000-square-foot building. The global lifestyle brand will join such national chains and independent stores as Alden Shoes, Peruvian Connection and Mia Gemma—all now on F Street. Visit the Guess website, www.guess.com.

Forever Young
Another Los Angeles clothing store is bringing its brand of chic fashion to Downtown. Forever 21, a popular teen and young adult retailer, is slated to open its first DC store in the former Woodward & Lothrop building at 1025 F Street. Fans of the clothing chain, which will share space with H & M (1025 F Street), West Elm furniture store (1020 G Street) and Madame Tussauds wax museum (1027 F Street) can expect a spring or summer opening. Forever 21 will occupy two floors in the building, with shopper access on 11th Street. Like Guess, it has signed a 10-year lease with Douglas Development (702 H Street), which patiently has acquired and renovated several vacant Downtown properties. More information about Forever 21 is available at www.forever21.com

A New Attitude
Been in the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (901 G Street) lately? Last month, the entrance metal detector leading to the Great Hall was removed, offering a more inviting environment for customers. A flat screen TV serves as a billboard of past, present and upcoming events. High-speed fiber optic Internet service is available. The library, which offers free iPod compatible audio books, has launched an application that services your iPhone or iPod Touch player. Now users can get hours, locations and maps of all DC public libraries, search catalogues, reserve materials and designate the library where items can be delivered for pick up. Deaf or hard-of-hearing persons can communicate with others through a Video Relay Service, which connects them to a center staffed by American Sign Language interpreters. More change is coming this month. Non-alcoholic beverages will be allowed, mainly in the Great Hall, which, by the way, sports new ceiling lights. Really neat: the library is exploring the possibility of opening a café, giving it a contemporary bookstore feel.

Behind this change is a spirited attempt to reinvigorate the library experience and make it more welcoming. Ginnie Cooper, chief librarian of the DC Public Library, has focused the institution’s attention on five areas: service to children, teens and young adults; access to technology; collections; adult literacy and learning; and creating a community place. The new message: times have changed and so has the library. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the most influential architects of the 20th century, the 37-year-old modernist building was designated a historic landmark nearly two years ago. Expect more changes at DC’s central library. For more information, visit www.dclibrary.org. 

Presidential History
All the hoopla surrounding Abraham Lincoln will soon spread to Ford’s Theatre (511 10th Street), where John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln. The historic site will reopen to the general public on Thursday, February 12, just in time to celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. The 145-year-old theatre and museum was shuttered in August of 2007 for major renovations—the first upgrades since 1968. Among the enhancements: new seats, upgraded sound and lighting systems, improved heating and air conditioning systems, renovated bathrooms, enhanced accessibility with elevators, a spacious new lobby with concessions, a new “parlor” for special events and stage upgrades for casts and crews.

The re-imagined museum’s collection of historic artifacts will be supplemented with a variety of narrative devices, including videos and three-dimensional figures. The new Center for Education and Leadership, focusing on the life and legacy of President Lincoln, will open across the street at 514 10th Street. Neighboring Petersen House (516 10th Street), where President Lincoln died, has remained open throughout the renovations and will continue to welcome visitors. Ford’s Theatre operates through a partnership between the National Park Service and the Ford’s Theatre Society. It attracts nearly one million visitors each year. For more information about the theatre, open house celebrations, tours and performances, visit www.fords.org.

It’s Back!
Just as Washington, DC celebrates President Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday, Cultural Tourism DC (1250 H Street) is re-launching its Civil War to Civil Rights: Downtown Heritage Trail this month, highlighting DC’s role as the nerve center for the Union struggle. The nonprofit coalition of more than 200 culture, heritage and community-based organizations, also will provide a revised heritage trail guidebook—a self-directed walking tour of Downtown DC—and a new downloadable and cell phone audio tour. Marked by 21 poster-sized street signs that combine text, historic photographs and maps, the trail offers visitors a chance to walk in the footsteps of historic figures such as President Lincoln, Clara Barton, Frederick Douglass and Walt Whitman. The guide previously was available at $4.95 but will be free at participating retail stores, restaurants and visitor centers throughout Downtown. For more information about the trail and to download the audio, guidebook and trail map, visit www.culturaltourismdc.org.  

Picking Up the Pace
The most recent building in the Downtown BID area, and the largest, to earn the Energy Star label is the Frances Perkins Building (200 Constitution Avenue), home to the US Department of Labor. Over the past decade, the 35-year-old building’s facilities and engineering management team has worked closely with the General Services Administration (GSA), National Capital Region, to replace older inefficient lighting, heating and cooling systems with more energy efficient equipment and fixtures. The humungous building, nearly 2 million square feet (SF), is also now the largest building in DC to receive the Energy Star label.

The number of Energy Star labeled buildings in the Downtown BID area continued to climb—and impress—in 2008. There were 11 properties in 2006, 18 in 2007 and 34 in 2008—an increase of 16 properties, or an additional 6.02 million square feet (SF) of floor space, from the previous year. This brings the total number of Energy Star properties to 14.4 million SF of floor space. The gains represent more than 42 million pounds of carbon dioxide reduced in the Downtown BID area. That's good news because the average office building in the Mid-Atlantic region produces 24 pounds of carbon dioxide per SF of office space; labeled properties are, at a minimum, more than 26% more efficient, producing 17 pounds of carbon dioxide per SF, according to Energy Star. For more information, visit www.energystar.gov and click on "Green Buildings."

Resetting the Bar
It took eight years of market and user feedback, but LEED 2009 is here. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) will launch the long-awaited update to the internationally recognized LEED green building certification program next month. This sets the stage for the next evolution of the existing LEED rating systems for commercial buildings. The changes will include major technical advancements designed to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and address other environmental concerns. One of the most noteworthy changes to the rating system deals with regional credits, those extra points identified as priorities within a project’s given environmental zone. They reflect climate change and energy efficiency as urgent priorities and increase a green building’s ability to contribute immediately and measurably to energy independence, climate change mitigation and other global priorities. For more specific details, visit www.usgbc.org.

On the Move
Discount travelers to New York and other locales along the Eastern Seaboard take note: BoltBus and Megabus will board passengers at the CityCenter DC site beginning Monday, February 9. 

The site, formerly the old Convention Center location on H Street between 9th and 11th Streets, was converted to a parking lot for interim use before redevelopment begins to create a major mixed-use project. The popular bus lines will move to the area from a shared spot in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library on G Street between 9th and 10th Streets, where they’ve been since December. Previously, the twosome picked up and dropped off passengers two blocks away at 11th between F and G Streets. Bon voyage!

Practical Guide
Businesses that want to set up shop in DC often have relied on the Washington, DC Economic Partnership’s (1495 F Street) popular Doing Business in DC Guide Book. Last month, the organization released the highly anticipated Asian edition, translated into Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. The new guide has been expanded to address the Asian community’s needs as well as the city’s commitment to inclusivity. Published in English and Spanish, the guide is a free step-by-step manual that focuses on the process necessary to start a business in DC, as well as the resources available to assist future business development. The publication is distributed to local universities, business resource providers and foreign embassies. For more information, call 202.661.8670 or visit www.wdcep.com/.

Lending a Hand
Autism Speaks is looking for additional merchants to participate in its second annual Eat, Shop, Give (ESG) shopping and dining fundraising event. The national organization dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments and cure for autism raised $65,000 last year in Montgomery County. This year’s fundraiser will include the entire metropolitan Washington area. Businesses can help raise awareness and funds to fight autism, a developmental disorder of the brain which afflicts one in every 150 children, up from one in 10,000 children nearly 30 years ago.

How the fundraiser works: customers purchase an ESG card for $50 and receive a 20% discount at a business during the nine-day promotional period, Thursday, March 12 through Friday, March 20, and again on April 2, World Autism Awareness Day. Autism Speaks will distribute a program of participating merchants with each ESG card purchase. The cards will be sold online, at designated merchant locations and through the organization’s network of volunteers. All proceeds will benefit Autism Speaks. For questions, contact Shawnie Keenan at skeenan@autismspeaks.org or 202.955.3111. More information is available at www.eatshopgive.org.

Monday, February 9, 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
US Environmental Protection Agency; Smart Growth Network; National Building Museum
Smart Growth Speaker Series: Enterprise's Green Communities Program
National Building Museum
401 F Street

The US Environmental Protection Agency, Smart Growth Network and the National Building Museum team up to sponsor this free event. Dana Bourland, senior director of green communities for Enterprise Community Partners, presents the organization's national initiative to bring the economic, environmental, and health benefits of green building to affordable housing. Registration is not required but recommended. To register, visit www.nbm.org.

Tuesday, February 10, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Downtown Neighborhood Association
Monthly Meeting
Calvary Baptist Church
755 8th Street

Both residents and workers are invited to this Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) meeting. Council Member Jack Evans will be present. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Patrol Service Area 101W will provide a neighborhood safety update. Nicholas Majett, deputy director for Customer Service and Communications with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, will return as a discussion leader. To RSVP, email miles@dcdna.org. For more information, visit www.dcdna.org.

Wednesday, February 11, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Casey Trees
Class: Trees in the City
1123 11th Street

Sign up to attend Casey Trees’ class on DC’s urban ecosystem and explore strategies for involving local communities in re-greening. This free module consists of three nights of classes on consecutive Wednesdays—February 11, 18 and 25, all beginning at 6:30 pm. Participants must attend all classes to complete the course, which covers urban ecology, green design, environmental stewardship, education and community outreach. For more information, visit www.caseytrees.org. For questions, contact Sue Erhardt at 202.349.1903 or serhardt@caseytrees.org, or Carol Herwig at 202.349.1907 or cherwig@caseytrees.org.

Thursday, February 19, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
District of Columbia Building Industry Association
Evening Meeting: “Le Deal”
National Press Club
529 14th Street

Join the District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA) for a special presentation by J. Byrne Murphy, who will discuss his memoir about a decade of deal making in Europe. He will talk about scouting for commercial sites, partnering with local developers and meeting the demands of politicians and bureaucrats. A book signing will follow the presentation. The cost to members is $60; nonmembers pay $75. For more information, email events@dcbia.org or call 202.966.8665. To register, visit www.dcbia.org.

Wednesday, February 25, 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Washington, DC Economic Partnership
Exploring Opportunities to Start & Own a Franchise
1495 F Street

This free event hosted by the Washington, DC Economic Partnership will feature a panel of experts, who will discuss strategies for starting and owning a franchise business in DC. Speakers include Donald Graves, a partner with Graves & Horton, LLC; Mariana Huberman, a UPS franchisee; John Reynolds, vice president of New Business Development for the International Franchise Association; and Benjamin Litalien, a franchise management professor at Georgetown University. Breakfast will begin at 9:00 am; the program runs from 9:30 am to 11:00 am. Registration is required. To register, visit www.wdcep.com