Downtown Barometer
Release Date: Tuesday, June 2nd 2009
The Downtown BID’s 2008 State of Downtown Report is now available. Produced annually, the publication measures the current and future state of economic development in Downtown.
The latest report shows that the city and Downtown both suffered economic declines at the end of 2008 because of global financial and economic turmoil. Still, strategic city and federal investments and partnerships helped set records. As a result, Downtown, DC and the region will all experience job growth because of federal stimulus dollars and major investments in energy, environmental sustainability and healthcare.
Information on each sector of the Downtown BID area’s challenged but steady economy is summarized in the new report, which informs public and private sector decision-makers about the historical, current and future state of economic development in Downtown. It highlights the employment, office and residential, hospitality and tourism, cultural and entertainment and retail and transportation sectors.
Among the key findings:
| • | The Downtown BID area added jobs in both 2007 and 2008. |
| • | $9.5 billion has been invested in BID area development since 1997. |
| • | Downtown’s office market has Class A rental rates of $60.30 per square foot and a Class A vacancy rate of 9.6%. |
| • | 250 new residents arrived in the BID area in 2008 for a total of 7,600. |
| • | Visitor attendance in Downtown hit an all-time high of 10.1 million. |
| • | BID area Metrorail ridership rose to 108,000 weekday; the DC Circulator bus ridership increased 16% over 2007. |
| • | Downtown restaurants continued to grow in number and quality, with a net gain of nine in 2008, leading to a total of 122 destination restaurants. |
Click here to access the report.
