Washington DC Economic Development News

Facade improvement work starts in Columbia Heights

July 28, 2010 - The District Department of Housing and Community Development recently awarded a $618,000 grant to the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights to make facade improvements on multiple storefronts on the 1400 block of Park Road, NW. The renovations are expected to be complete in the fall of 2010.

PN Hoffman signs new partner for SW Waterfront redevelopment

May 24, 2010 - An article in today's Washington Post details that PN Hoffman, lead developer in a $1.5 billion redevelopment along the Washington Channel in SW DC, has signed DC-based Madison Marquette onto the project as a major partner. Madison Marquette will also be bringing needed capital into the ambitious project. More here.

Metro service cuts loom; Join Campaign to save Metro

April 07, 2010 - There is no doubt that economic times are challenging these days, but Metro is one the verge of implementing some deep service cuts. Mayor Fenty's recently released budget didn't include the additional money needed stave of cuts such as closing Metro earlier and opening later, imposing 30-minute waits between trains during the evenings, and eliminating 8-car trains even during rush. Please join the "Fair Share for Metro" compaign and voice your support to DC leaders and the Metro board today!

The 2010 National Cherry Blossom Festival begins March 27

March 25, 2010 - This year's festival marks the 98th celebration of the original gift of 3,000 cherry trees in 1912 by the city of Tokyo to the people of Washington, DC. Over one million people are expected to partake in the numerous events being held in Washington, DC between March 27 and April 11. There is also a very handy "Bloom Watch" guide that lets you know the dates when peak bloom should occur.

Ford's Theatre offers $10 ticket specials on Mondays

March 20, 2010 - Take advantage of $10 ticket specials on Monday performances at Ford's Theatre. Patrons younger than 35 may purchase the discounted tickets through Ticketmaster or directly through the box office by using promo code "UNDER35".

DC launches a new accountability website

Feb 11, 2010 - Mayor Fenty's administration recently launched TrackDC, a new acountability website with over 400 sets of data. Through this resource, anyone in the universe can now track the performance of individual agencies, how the annual DC budget is apportioned, key performance indications, awarded contracts, and much more.

CoStar Group move to DC is official, buys building for HQ

Feb 08, 2010 - CoStar Group, the largest provider of information and analytics services to the commercial real estate industry, has solidified its plans to move its heaquarters to Washington, DC. Instead of leasing space, the company has instead purchased a 170,000 square foot office building in downtown DC. This transaction represents one of th the first sucessful attempts by the Fenty administration to bring a major corporate headquarters to DC. The city's residential population is increasing at a respectable rate now, so the DC government needs to be just as aggressive at luring other major companies to the city as it did the with CoStar Group to support the increasing population and further diversify the tax base.

Inter-city bus service now available at DC's Union Station

Jan 25, 2010 - Travelers now have a choice of multiple Washington, DC locations from which to get bus service to New York City. Three companies (Boltbus, DC2NY, and Washington Deluxe) began offering departures from and arrivals to Union Station's Bus Deck Level as part of a six-month pilot to guage demand for inter-city bus service from that location. Boltbus, DC2NY, and Washington Deluxe will continue to operate bus service from other locations in DC as well as Union Station.

DC hosts US Conference of Mayors' 78th Winter Meeting

Jan 20, 2010 - Over 230 of the nation's mayors are in Washington, DC for a 3-day conference at the Capital Hilton hotel. Led by US Conference of Mayors President Elizabeth Kautz, the U.S. mayors in attendance will meet with President Obama, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Cabinet members, and other policy makers to push for a coordinated agenda that confronts double-digit unemployment, job creation, a more balanced transportation bill, energy independence, better airport security, and summer jobs for our nation's youth.

UDC gets independent control of its construction contracts

Jan 12, 2010 - The D.C. Council recently altered the procurement process by giving the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) independent control over its maintenance and construction projects so that the school may move forward with its ambitious Van Ness campus modernization program. UDC can now enter into contracts with construction and maintenance companies without having to wait for the city to act on its behalf. Long-awaited projects such as the construction of a new student center and the renovation of numerous existing buildings on the school's Van Ness campus should be able to move forward without getting bogged down in the red-tape of DC's infamous procurement process.

Metro GM Catoe to host online chat tomorrow at 12pm

Jan 07, 2010 - Metro's General Manager John Catoe is hosting an online chat, Friday, January 08, to directly answer questions about Metro-related issues. The live hour-long chat will be from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Questions or comments can be submitted before or during the chat session. Let your voice be heard!

DC Council OK's $6.1M in tax breaks to lure CoStar to DC

Jan 05, 2010 - The DC Council has agreed to offer the CoStar Group $6.1 million in tax breaks if the publicly-traded real estate information company moves its headquarters from Bethesda, MD to Washington, DC. The bill requires that CoStar hire at least 100 DC residents, contract at least 35 percent of the build out work for its new headquarters office space to DC small businesses, and hire DC residents for at least 50 percent of the positions that the company fills during the 10-year tax abatement period.

DC population set to exceed 600,000 residents

Jan 01, 2010 - Recently released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that DC's population was just a few hundred residents shy of 600,000 as of July 2009. DC gained almost 10,000 new residents in the period between July 2008 and July 2009, representing the largest one-year gain since World War II. Only four states grew fast than the District of Columbia in the last year, and the city is fast approaching and will probably surpass the population of Vermont and South Dakota within the next 10 years.

December 2009 ↓

DC launches web-based interactive zoning map

Dec 10, 2009 - DC's Office of Zoning (DCOZ) recently launched a new interactive zoning map. This tool is designed to allow easy access to zoning data related to all properties in the city. Users can search zoning data by specific address, square and lot, parcel, or Planned Unit Development (PUD). DCOZ promises to update the map regularly with the latest information. We have placed a link to the new interactive zoning map on our Washington DC Map Directory page.

DC gears up for 2010 Census; launches Census website

Dec 06, 2009 - In the city's effort to get all of the its residents counted, DC has launched a "DC Counts Census 2010" website to promote the US Census Bureau's questionnaire that will be mass mailed to all US addresses in March 2010. It is important to get as many DC residents counted, especially the "hard-to-count" populations such as foreign-born immigrants, the homeless, etc., so that DC gets its piece of the more than $300 billion in annual funds that the federal government allocates to states and communities based on Census data.

November 2009 ↓

DC's first set of streetcars set to arrive in mid-December

Nov 19, 2009 - Three modern streetcars that DC purchased in 2005 are finally on their way to the US from the Czech Republic. Construction on the 66-foot Skoda streetcars were completed in 2007, but they have been in storage in the Czech Republic ever since because train tracks and a maintainance facilty for them hadn't been completed. Now that track work installation on the Anacostia Initial Line Segment and on the H Street/Benning Road corridor are nearing completion, DC's first set of streetcars can now be comfortably brought home and stored yet again, this time at Metro's Greenbelt rail yard, for a little longer whilst the finishing touches are made. DDOT now projects revenue service to begin sometime in 2012 or maybe a little sooner.

Two mixed-use projects in NE get tentative zoning approval

Nov 11, 2009 - The Washington Post brings us word that mixed-use projects at Fort Totten and Brookland, both in NE DC, received tentative approval earlier this week from the D.C. Zoning Commission. Art Place and Shops at Fort Totten is slated to be a $425 million development on 17 acres that would include residential units, a grocery store, and some cultural and arts space. In Brookland, Abdo Development wants to build a mixed-use project that would better link the Brookland neighborhood with Catholic University with about 825 residential units, a public square and clock tower, shops, and restaurants.

Work begins on DC's $133M Consolidated Forensic Laboratory

Nov 05, 2009 - D.C. has awarded Whiting Turner a contract to build the city its new $133 million Consolidated Forensic Laboratory (CFL) at 415 4th Street in SW DC. The CFL will be a state-of-the-art research facility for the Metropolitan Police Department Forensic Laboratory, the Department of Health Public Health Laboratory, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Demolition work on the site has already begun, and the building should be completed in 2011.

October 2009 ↓

DDOT to hold public meetings for transit recommendations

Oct 17, 2009 - The District Department of Transportation is engaging residents and businesses through a series of open houses to be held across every ward in the city on a framework for DC's transit future. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), limited-stop bus service, streetcars, and other modes of mass transit will be discussed. Check out the schedule of dates and locations for the meetings here.

Black Pearl Sings! playing at Ford's Theatre in Penn Quarter

Oct 10, 2009 - This lively theatre production is playing at Ford's Theatre until Oct 18th. Written by Frank Higgins, Black Pearl Sings! focuses on two women, one a song collector and the other a prisoner, and how they unite through music. I got a chance to check this production out, and it is well worth going to see it.

1000 Connecticut Avenue in Golden Triangle breaks ground

Oct 02, 2009 - After securing $194 milion in construction financing late in 2008, site preparation for a new 370,000 square-foot building at the intersection of Connecticut and K Street in the Golden Triangle business district has begun. Law firm Arent Fox is the lead tenant, and the building is slated for completion in the fall of 2012.

September 2009 ↓

Majority of DC residents disapprove Fenty's performance

Sep 25, 2009 - WJLA reports that a recent SurveyUSA poll found that 51% of DC residents dissapprove of Mayor Fenty's job performance to date.

DC's data feeds wins Ash Institute innovation award

Sep 23, 2009 - The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University recently announced that DC's data feeds as the winner of the 2009 Innovations in American Government Award in Urban Policy. This award recognizes the initiative to make virtually all of DC's operational data available to the public in raw form rather than in static, edited reports. This DC government initiative is the first of its kind in the country. Check out DC's data feeds here.

Michelle A. Rhee talks D.C. schools reform progress

Sep 22, 2009 - Watch this recent Washington Post video of interview with D.C. Public Schools chief on the progress achieved in improving education and teaching. She also discusses what lies ahead for DCPS in the future.

D.C. to create green jobs with federal stimulus funds

Sep 21, 2009 - The District Department of Transportation's Urban Forestry Administration was awarded nearly $2.8 million in federal stimulus funding to create green jobs and improve the health of the city's urban tree canopy. These projects could create nearly 400 jobs in DC.

Ward 7 Business Association showcases East of River

Sep 18, 2009 - The Washington Business Journal lets us know that the Ward 7 Business and Professional Association plans to showcase around 30 development projects planned for east of the Anacostia river on Saturday, September 19 from 10 to 2 pm at Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church - 3300 Pennsylvania Ave., SE.

Website gets updated with a more streamlined look

Sep 15, 2009 - Website Update! The D.C. Webcam Directory has its own page now. We have added a lot of new webcam views of the city, too. The Washington DC Demographics and Research page has also been updated with a lot of new documents.

YouTube video about DC's new community college

Sep 14, 2009 - Watch the YouTube video on the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Community College of the District of Columbia (CCDC). The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is now made up of two independently run entities - a flagship university, and an open-enrollment community college. This is a big change for the city's only public university of higher education. As soon as next year, CCDC will leave the Van Ness campus and establish its own campus at a different location within the city. In other good news, the President of UDC has stated that admissions are up this academic year.