"The development of the Southwest Waterfront and the Capitol Riverfront make it even more critical to make capital improvements to the National Mall,” said Reinhard, “as the Mall now is at the heart of a robust Washington center city, rather than being at the edge of its Downtown.” He said the National Mall Plan readies for action much of what the BID sees as being necessary at “America’s Front Yard” by: • Promoting a world-class landscape, protecting the historic landscape of the McMillan Plan, and creating a more user-friendly environment;   • Helping to create a high-quality local greenspace that serves local residents and workers and ties together the center city;

In addition, Reinhard said the BID urges NPS to invest in its “uptown parks,” such as Pershing Park, Freedom Plaza, John Marshall Park, Franklin Square, and McPherson Square, so that these public spaces can host more special events and better serve the center city. He also testified that each National Mall Plan project and program will require significant funding by Congress and commended the Trust for the National Mall, founded by Chip Akridge, the chairman of Akridge (601 13th Street), for helping to implement the final plan and raise a substantial portion of the $600 million to $700 million needed to renovate the Mall.

To read Reinhard’s statement in support of the National Mall Plan, click here.

Having Your Say
It’s time to take the Downtown BID’s 2011 Downtown Neighborhood Survey, your chance to inform retailers and other businesses about the growing Downtown consumer market and the area’s retail needs. Let us know what type of retail you’d like to see. In return, your name will be entered into a drawing

Welcome Aboard
The Downtown BID office is brimming with new staff members: Karyn Le Blanc, David Pollard, Alex Block, Jeannette Chapman, Jerone Dinkins, Elissa Staley and Jackie Jones.

Karyn is the new communications director and is responsible for developing strategies that will support the BID’s mission and goals and overseeing the Communications Department. She comes to the BID from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), where she worked for eight years, most recently heading up the agency’s very robust Communications Department. Under her tenure DDOT saw the successful growth of its communications department and the agency was positioned as a national leader among state Departments of Transportation in both public outreach strategies and government social media strategies.

David, deputy director of operations, will assist the director in providing leadership for the Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance employees (SAMs). He has an extensive background in security and staff management and was previously project manager for security at the American Red Cross, Reagan National Airport, and Union Station. Alex, a former transportation planner with the DC Office of Planning, works as a transportation management analyst in the BID's Planning Department. A member of the American Planning Association, he has a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Michigan.

Jeannette is the research assistant in Economic Development, where she helps track office, retail and residential development. Before joining the BID, she worked with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP (1275 Pennsylvania Avenue), a DC-based law firm with offices in four US cities and London. Jeannette has degrees in economics and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. Jerone is a website and media associate in the Communications Department. No stranger to the BID, he began work as a temp in the Communications Department in January 2010. Formerly a grassroots and special projects coordinator for the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, he has a background in website/webpage maintenance, database maintenance and fundraising and lobbying and holds a degree in biology from Howard University.

Elissa works as the program coordinator for the National Cherry Blossom Festival where she is helping to develop, support and execute such events as Family Day, the Kite Festival and the Festival Stage on Woodrow Wilson Plaza. Elissa is the former program coordinator with the National Council for the Traditional Arts and has a degree in music from Grinnell College; she's completing her master's in Arts Management.  The National Cherry Blossom Festival contracts with the Downtown BID for management, staffing and administrative services. The BID's Events Department staffs this signature festival as well as produces the Holiday Market and Arts on Foot and manages the Downtown Events Corporation.  Jackie recently joined the Events Department as the administrative assistant. Her background includes event planning and property and accounts management. Jackie also has been a computer instructor and has facilitated a wide range of technology programs.

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 three such communications.

Dear Downtown BID, I want to send my thanks and gratitude to your company and the employee who helped me while I was in the Downtown Washington, DC, area a couple of weeks ago. I was there for an interview but forgot my telephone. Khasan Taylor was working that day when I tried to figure out how to reach the friends whose house I was staying at so that I could return to their home. This gentleman was hospitable enough to help me reach my family in Chicago to get my friends’ phone number. He also went out of his way to make sure I got on the correct train and bus to get back to their house. He was patient, understanding and very informative, and made it very easy for me to understand what to do. Had it not been for him, I would surely have been more lost than I already was! -  Joseph Murillo III    Des Plaines, Illinois

Dear Downtown BID, I want to commend highly Mr. Raymond Dantzler and the community service worker [from the Superior Court’s DC Misdemeanor and Traffic Community Court], who was fulfilling his community service with the BID. They were sweeping and raking the tree boxes near the G Street entrance to the Verizon Center on October 19. They were raking out cigarette butts when we had a discussion about the 5-cent fee for bags. If they did not rake out those butts, the butts would go into the street and directly down the sewer drain. You are very fortunate to have such thorough and knowledgeable employees. May they have all the luck in the world in their future endeavors. -  Nancy Masterson Washington, DC

Dear Downtown BID, As we were coming up from the subway into the Federal Triangle center, we were fortunate to meet Vivian Morgan. This was our first visit to DC, so we had many questions. She gave us some information and showed us how to get to where we were going. We had a wonderful conversation with her. She is an asset to DC. Thank you, Vivian. -  Bob and Patti Stratton     Ft. Meyers Beach, Florida

Cream of the Crop
Calling all wheelers and dealers. The Washington Business Journal is now accepting applications for its 14th annual Best Real Estate Deals of the year awards. The awards recognize the top deals of 2010 in a wide range of categories such as architecture; new office development; office, retail and industrial sales and leases; and land deal and community impact. Last year, three Downtown BID area projects were finalists in the Land Deal, Lease Renewal and New Office Development categories. Nominations close on January 21. For more information and to nominate a project, click here.

Popular Fare of the Day
Yes, it’s true. Celebrity chef Mike Isabella will open Graffiato (707 6th Street), an Italian-inspired restaurant, this spring. You may recognize Isabella from Top Chef (Season 6) and Top Chef All-Stars (Season 8). The former executive chef of Zaytinya (701 9th Street) will roll out seasonal, artisanal pizzas and small plates, including roasted potato gnocchi, tender pork ribs and warm fresh-stretched mozzarella, at a time when several new Italian restaurants—Carmine’s (425 7th Street), Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca (1100 New York Avenue), Potenza (1430 H Street) and Siroc (915 15th Street) - have burst onto the Downtown scene. The new restaurant will seat 150, offer house made meats, cheeses, and accoutrements. For more information, visit www.graffiatodc.com.

Chinatown Delight
Pho DC (608 H Street), the cozy, new Vietnamese restaurant, is wooing diners with its namesake traditional Vietnamese noodle soup as well as its broken rice, curry puffs, grilled pork, and traditional herbs and spices such as lemon grass, lime and kefir lime leaves. Yummy! The menu at the 50-seat restaurant (there’s also room for another 15 at the bar) is dominated by Asian and French influences, and minimal MSG. For more information, click here.

International Fare
After a six-month delay, Merzi (415 7th Street), the English-Indian eatery, is now open. The fast-casual restaurant features fresh and healthy cuisine and its trademark Tandisserie chicken, a Tandoori-seasoned chicken cooked rotisserie style. Customers can create meals by choosing from an array of vegetables, meats and seafood, sauces and chutneys. There is enough seating to accommodate 49 diners. For more information, click here.

Mixing it Up
The Hilton Garden Inn (815 14th Street) is renaming and re-launching its Great American Grill restaurant. Say hello to Grist Mill, a 64-seat restaurant that will begin serving American and international comfort foods this month. New executive chef Christopher Willis, formerly with Posh Restaurant & Supper Club (730 11th Street), is leading the charge. Posh was shuttered in February 2010. Grist Mill will have an adjoining 40-seat lounge and offer dishes such as macaroni and cheese, beef stroganoff, and Madrid-inspired paella. For more information, call 202.521.1612.

Moving Pains
Skyline Café closed it doors after nearly 15 years at 1250 H Street.  No word yet on the establishment that will replace the buffet-style eatery, which occupied 4,390 SF and offered a hot/cold food bar and an assortment of snacks.

Keeping Up Appearances
Slow and steady wins the day over at the Hyatt Regency Washington (400 New Jersey Avenue), which is finishing up an extensive, more than six-year, $34 million renovation project. The overhaul began when all 834 guest rooms were spruced up in mid 2004 and will end once the Ballroom level and four lobby level meeting rooms are transformed later this month. Over the years, the Capitol Hill hotel also has refurbished its rooftop restaurant and changed it to meeting space; revamped its second floor meeting space (a total of 10 meeting rooms); fixed up its hotel lobby, restaurant and lounge; and installed 1,946 new windows throughout the hotel. All renovations have been updated to reflect the same design concept and colorings to create uniformity from top to bottom. For more information about the Hyatt Regency, click here.

Restful Year
The Washington, DC Marriott Marquis, the new Convention Center headquarters hotel slated for Massachusetts Avenue and 9th Street, won’t open until 2014, but DC hotels will benefit from a rise in conventions this year, translating into more booked rooms and higher rates per night at local hotels. According to a Jones Lang LaSalle hotel market report, the number of nights with more than 5,000 convention center room nights booked will climb by nearly 50%, to almost 180 nights out of the year, for upscale and luxury hotels. The market will benefit from increased demand, which, amid steady supply levels, will lead to a considerable amount of compression. Upscale and luxury hotels, including many located in Downtown, should see revenue per available room, or RevPAR, growth of 5% to 7% this year over 2010 levels, with increases driven more heavily by average daily rate (ADR) growth than occupancy growth.  But who’s complaining?

Too Hot to Trot
Holy cow! Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (641 D Street), the popular Downtown institution, is breaking records all over the place. As of December 9, A Girl’s Guide to Washington Politics holds the following records (breaking those established by the 2007 production of One Man Star Wars Trilogy): highest single sales for a single production before the first performance (23% more); total income for the seven days prior to the first public performance (52% more); total tickets sold in the seven days prior to the first public performance (3% more). A Girl’s Guide to Washington Politics, written and performed by Chicago’s The Second City comedy theatre, runs through January 9 and is a wild take on the most influential, powerful, and polarizing women in politics. Congrats, Woolly! For more information about Woolly, click here.

Critically Acclaimed
You’ve probably heard the uproar over the National Portrait Gallery’s (8th and F Streets) exhibit “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture.” Despite the hoopla, critics have praised the exhibit’s art and its brave subject matter, which explores the role that sexual identity has played in modern paintings and photographs of people. While artist David Wojnarowicz’s video, “A Fire in My Belly,” was pulled because it showed an image of ants crawling on a crucifix, the Washington Post and New York Times have given the exhibit a thumbs up. At the Smithsonian Institution’s gallery through February 13, the exhibition is filled with important works by such modern artists as Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol, John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins and Felix Gonzalez-Torres. For more information, click here.

Moving on Up
The 104-year-old Hotel Association of Washington, DC (1201 New York Avenue) has a new president. Solomon Keene, vice president of the association since 2007, will continue to represent the interests of 94 member hotels in his new position. He certainly has the background. Keene has worked in the association’s member services, government affairs, community affairs and communications departments.

Open for Business
Another law firm has moved into the Downtown BID area. Philadelphia-based Fox Rothschild LLP has opened an office at 1301 K Street, where it will handle international transactions, import-export regulation and government contracting law. This is the full service law firm’s 16th location. Fox Rothschild ranks No. 93 on The National Law Journal’s 2010 list of the 250 largest US law firms. Two years ago, it placed at No. 104.

Saving Our Trees
Like the trees you see in the Downtown BID area? Well, to maintain them requires constant care and work. The Downtown BID partners with the District Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) Urban Forestry Administration (d.Trees) to nurture the area’s 2,500 trees.

According to the BID’s most recent tree box survey, d.Trees has done an outstanding job removing dead trees and replacing them with new ones. Of the 2,530 tree boxes surveyed last fall, 101 were empty, 80 had dead trees, and 19 had stumps. This means that more than 92% of the tree boxes had living trees. Not to be downplayed is the important role performed by building owners and managers. In addition to expanding tree watering schedules during last summer’s extreme heat wave, many of them watered trees regularly throughout the year.

The latest BID survey includes a new feature: an inventory of plants and other items within the tree box, including borders or hoops, mulch, soil compaction, grates and miscellaneous items such as sign poles, meters, and gator bags. Iron tree grates, which suppress trash accumulation and allow pedestrian traffic over the tree planting area, are controversial. d.Trees says they compact the soil, discourage daily watering, obstruct tree growth and eventually kill trees. The BID is working with d.Trees on a plan to remove grated tree boxes before they compromise a tree’s health. A better alternative to grates: borders and fencing around three sides of a tree box, which allows trees to breathe and diverts foot traffic around the boxes.

Have questions about trees in the Downtown BID area? Feel free to forward an email to Trees@downtowndc.org.

Lighting the Way
Washingtonians will have $1 million in federal stimulus funds to thank for the LED (light emitting diode) streetlights that will debut in DC alleys this year. More than 1,000 new energy efficient and environmentally-friendly lighting fixtures will be used to power 70,000 street and alley lights. LEDs last longer than existing lights, reduce maintenance and energy costs, and emit fewer greenhouse gases. Expect the city to eventually install energy-efficient lights on streets, bridges, tunnels and underpasses, pedestrian walkways, and bike and running trails. Alternative power sources, specifically solar and wind power, could be next.

Investing in the Future
Who knew that Chip Akridge, the chairman of Akridge (601 13th Street), the full-service commercial real estate firm, dabbles in technology firms—and not just any high-tech operation, but one that produces hydrogen-based power? According to the Washington Business Journal, the well-known developer and philanthropist (he founded the Trust for the National Mall), hopes the power source produced by innovative BlackLight Power, Inc. of Cranbury, New Jersey, will one day light and heat local buildings in his portfolio for less money. Time will tell if BlackLight is successful because its technology is purportedly two or three years from being available commercially.

Curbside Rendezvous
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) continues to encourage bicycle use in Downtown DC. Last month, it installed the first in-street, bike parking corrals in the Downtown BID area, offering cyclists five locations—near E Street Cinema on 11th and E Streets, Regal Cinemas on 7th and G Streets, Macy’s on 13th and G Streets, the US Navy Memorial on 8th and D Streets, and Alden Shoes between 9th and 10th Streets on F—where they can safely lock up their bicycles. Each corral holds 10 bikes instead of one car and can be used by commuters and visitors alike. This latest effort is in line with city plans to repurpose on-street parking spaces for bicycle parking in at least 25 locations. To view a map of curbside parking locations, click here.

Farewell to a Trailblazer
The nation’s first high-tech, bike-sharing program is no more. SmartBikeDC, which started as a pilot program in mid-August 2008, ended officially this month—but not before riders logged more than 50,000 trips using the red and white bikes that came to symbolize the innovative new project, which helped to spawn Capital Bikeshare, DC and Arlington County’s new regional bike sharing program. The old bikes will be removed from all 10 SmartBike locations—including in the Downtown BID area  near the Gallery Place, Judiciary Square, Metro Center and McPherson Square Metrorail stations—beginning on January 3. Each site will receive the new, red Capital Bikeshare bikes, bringing the total number of Capital Bikeshare locations in Downtown to 15. The new system includes 1,100 bikes and 100 locations in DC and 14 locations in Arlington.

But wait! It doesn’t end there. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will expand the Capital Bikeshare system this year, adding 20 new stations and 200 additional bikes in DC. Arlington also plans to add new stations. The move will boost the size of the nation’s first regional bikesharing network by nearly a third. The planning process for selecting locations for the new stations will end this spring and installations could begin by May. The US Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program will fund the new stations and bikes. For more information about Capital Bikeshare, click here.

Open Access
If you’re looking for a way to keep track of real-time information about available transportation options, get ready for DC’s first multi-modal digital display. A pilot state-of-the-art screen is now in the ground floor window at the Reeves Center located at 14th and U Streets, and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) plans to expand the pilot by installing dual-sided 32 inch screens in three additional locations or bus shelters, or both. What’s so special about this platform? Multiple transportation options—buses, Metrorail, bike sharing and car sharing—are layered on the display so travelers can tap into nearby transport modes and their locations. The screen also displays the current time, day, and weather conditions, and has a ticker for news and transportation alerts. To view a video sample, click here.

In other news, DDOT has released dTAP 2.0, an updated beta version of its Transportation Access Portal. Check out enhancements to the projects section and review financial data, customer service scores, traffic safety statistics, and a report on the overall condition of DC’s roadways. The platform is reportedly more user-friendly, easier to navigate and allows travelers to access information in an easy-to-use online dashboard at dashboard.ddot.dc.gov. More improvements are coming.

A New Attitude
The Washington, DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP) has rebuilt its website, www.wdcep.org, from the ground up. Besides the new, more contemporary and user-friendly design, check out the fresh content and new approach to economic development. The Learn More, Explore More, and Interact More features provide need-to-know information about starting and expanding a business in DC, exploring DC neighborhoods, and finding retail, restaurant, and small business locations and opportunities. agencyQ (1100 13th Street), a full-service digital firm, helped to create the website.

Spurring Growth
Kept an eye on the region’s largest and most remarkable venture capital deals last year? The Washington Business Journal wants to hear from you. The newspaper is accepting nominations for its second annual Venture Capital Awards. The program will recognize the biggest and most significant venture capital deals made in 2010 and the venture capital firms and individuals behind them. There are five categories this year: Deal of the Year-Angel; Deal of the Year-Early Stage; Deal of the Year-Later Stage; Exit of the Year; and Friend of the Entrepreneur. The submission deadline is January 31. For more information, click here.