$10 Million for MLK Ave Corridors

This has been the week of neighborhood development funding announcements. Mayor Fenty announced today the distribution breakdown for $95 Million made available for struggling retail corridors throughout DC.

Developers can apply for money to accentuate retail projects of at least 10,000 square feet, but must "demonstrate true financial gaps" in their effort to attract retail, according to a statement from Fenty. -Washington Business Journal

Overall, this is great news for Historic Anacostia. However, our allotment must be shared between:

Historic Anacostia:


and Congress Heights:


It is interesting that the Martin Luther King Ave / South Capitol Street SE corridor in Ward 8 -arguably the DC corridor most in need of revitalization- was only doled out $10 Million, while the other corridors in NE and NW are getting $25 Million each. We may be across a river and in a less-known part of the city, but we still deserve the same chance for economic development as other, more visible neighborhoods.

In any case, it will be exciting to see how this infusion is put to use.

**editor's note: commenter IMGoph makes a good point in saying that attracting retail to corridors in NE and NW costs a lot more than in SE. Which would at least partly explain the major disparity in funding...

maps courtesy of Neighborhood Grant Application

Attention 1100 Block of Good Hope Property Owners!

(*note: the 1100 block of Good Hope Road is where Drake's is going to be, and where the "before and after" photo was from my recent post)

From the District's website:

The District’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development on Monday announced it will make available $500,000 in grants for improvements along Great Streets corridors.

The funds are available for grants to property owners for facade and other improvements along H Street, NE, the 1100 block of Good Hope Road, SE, the 3600 block of Georgia Avenue, NW, and the 3100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE.

The improvements are expected to help make neighborhood shopping districts more appealing for existing and new customers. The District anticipates providing reimbursable grants up to $20,000 each until this pool of funds are exhausted. Property owners will be reimbursed by the District upon regular submission of invoices, receipts and cancelled checks.

Applicants must submit a completed application to the District no later than Friday, February 29, 2008, no later than 3 pm. Applications are available for pick up at 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 317, Washington, DC 20004.

All inquiries should be directed in writing only to derrick.woody@dc.gov or fax number (202) 727-6703.

Great Streets Grant Application (PDF)

Readers: if you know a property owner along one of the above corridors (especially on Good Hope), please pass this information along to them!

Great Streets: Anacostia

These are the changes proposed by the Great Streets Initiative, an infrastructure redevelopment program that was supposed to have started this past fall, but has been pushed back again. I also just noticed that they put out a very comprehensive design report (images, renderings, examples, descriptions) in November, which you can access Here - definitely check out the link.

The thing that frustrates me the most at this point is that there are no plans to underground the overhead utility lines - something I plan to formally argue for in the near future.

















For more information, check out the MLK Great Streets website

photos by DG-rad
(posted from Vellore, India - that is how oddly dedicated I am...)