Get ready to shop till you drop. Come 2013, the DowntownDC Shopping District will reach new heights. That’s when CityCenterDC will create a bustling new focal point for Downtown and DC, with substantial retail anchoring the DowntownDC Shopping District, according to a new retail brochure released by the DowntownDC BID. The report, “DowntownDC Shopping District,” notes that the 10-acre CityCenterDC mixed use development will meet some of the $600 million in unmet shoppers’ goods retail demand. With more than 600,000 square feet (SF) of existing shoppers’ retail already in place, the DowntownDC BID shopping district has 60,000 SF of retail space available today and another 100,000 SF that will be converted from non-shoppers’ goods retail to shoppers’ goods retail.
The Old Convention Center site (along H Street from 7th to 11th Streets), the largest cluster of planned Downtown retail space at 325,000 SF, will anchor a blend of shops, restaurants, cafes and boutique grocery stores. Richard Bradley, the BID’s executive director, says “The anticipated retail element will add to Downtown’s world-class status as the region’s premier urban gathering place, while positioning it as a major urban shopping district. This is what we have envisioned for years, and we’re delighted to see that the vision is fast becoming reality.”
So, brace yourself for a gigantic shopping spree. Until then, to review a copy of the report, which provides extensive data on retail demand drivers and market statistics and projections, visit www.downtowndc.org/retail.