PRESS RELEASE
Downtown BID Offers Economic Strategies to Weather Financial Crisis
Release Date: Wednesday, December 17th 2008
Focus on Continuing City’s Transformation, Later Recovery
WASHINGTON, DC – The Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID) has released a new leadership paper, DC’s Response to the Global Financial and Economic Crisis, which focuses on immediate steps government and the community should consider to minimize the adverse effects of the global financial and economic crisis and to maximize recovery when conditions become more favorable.
DC is generally recession-resistant and can expect somewhat stronger economic activity than most of its competitors, but the current global financial and economic crisis has created an economic slowdown for the city. In particular, the commercial real estate market, normally one of the city’s economic anchors, is now caught up in international forces that effect values and liquidity. In the short run, normal business growth will be deferred and the city will suffer significant fiscal consequences.
As such, the business community recommends that the city take the following steps:
- Partner with federal agencies to maintain and expand their presence in the city.
- Develop economic development strategies for key sectors to create new development and job opportunities.
- Allow more flexibility for public/private real estate development opportunities.
- Continue to make strategic investments in the economy, infrastructure and neighborhoods.
- Devise tax policies to make commercial development and occupancy cost in DC more competitive regionally.
- Improve regional cooperative efforts.
“The goal of these steps is to ensure that DC weathers the current downturn and emerges prepared to capture its share of regional growth, while growing its tax base for the benefit of all residents,” says Richard H. Bradley, executive director of the Downtown BID. “Over the past 12 years, DC has experienced a tremendous transformation. We’ve come too far to let this current crisis impede future economic progress.”
The Leadership Paper, the fifth in a series of working papers to foster dialogue about critical issues relating to Downtown’s economic, social and physical environment, emphasizes that city leaders face a choice in responding to current economic conditions. They can abide the current course and risk deflecting capital and jobs to outlying suburbs and points beyond, or they can work to reduce impediments to development, create an updated economic development strategy and implement strategic investments throughout the city.
“The most immediate consequence of the current downturn is reduced capital availability for a wide array of business and personal endeavors,” says Matt Klein, chairman of the Downtown BID Board of Directors and president of Akridge, a full-service commercial real estate firm. “For the first time in years, area firms are laying off employees and regional job growth is slowing. We must move immediately to soften the blow and ensure the local economy recovers as quickly as possible.”
Among some of the paper’s other highlights:
- Public, private and non-profit sectors should come together to make key federal decision makers aware of the many excellent locations in DC and its region for new employees, especially as jobs are created to regulate the financial sector.
- Emerging economic opportunities in financial services, energy and the environment need to be integrated into a broad strategic framework for DC.
- Some proposed projects on DC government-owned land might need to be deferred for several months to help manage supply at a time of decreasing demand and ensure that the city gets the best development project in the long run.
- The time is right to plan for long-term infrastructure projects and to frame a short-term local social safety net and economic development stimulus package.
- The city’s commercial property tax policies should be re-evaluated to restart tax parity for commercial property and business tax rates.
- DC should join hands with our regional neighbors to grow an even larger regional economy for the benefit of all.
Says Bradley: “Charting a prudent course is essential if the economy is to continue to grow and if city government is to fund education, affordable housing, public health and other social services adequately.”
The leadership paper is available on the Downtown BID’s website at www.downtowndc.org/economy. For hard copies of the report, please contact Caitlin Davis at 202.661.7591 or click here.
Click the title below to access these other Downtown BID leadership papers:
