Wednesday, January 30, 2008

$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

4 comments:

IMGoph said...

i think you're being disingenuous about the money totals. more money is needed in places like 7th street NW because things are more expensive there. i'd argue that real estate is pricer, so more money is needed to get the local businesses that you'd want to be able to afford a storefront there.

David Garber said...

you make a valid case. I knew that there had to be a reason for that. thanks for the input

IMGoph said...

no problem, we're all aiming for the same thing here, right!

Anonymous said...

These are TIF districts. The amount of money allocated corresponds to an amount that the City thinks each district can produce in additional tax revenue.