Wow, what a September! We celebrated DC’s dynamic creative economy all month long for 202Creates, opened the first public building, DCI and LAMB Schools, on the historic Walter Reed campus in Ward 4 and announced that DC would compete for Amazon’s second headquarters – (check out the Mayor’s video “Alexa Why DC?”!)

But I have to admit, I’ve been looking forward to October – this month, the first phase of the District’s Wharf will open in Southwest. Over the last 200+ years, the area went through periods of renewal and decline, but for the last 50 years it has been mostly untouched – until now.

Starting on October 12, visitors to the Wharf can enjoy 30 new restaurants and shops and hear music at the new 6,000 capacity venue, the Anthem, which will host Foo Fighters on opening night. Most importantly, the first phase of Wharf brings jobs and economic opportunity – with 1,150 construction jobs and 2,100 permanent jobs. The Wharf project represents one of the best examples of a public/private partnership to deliver a first-class waterfront development. I can’t wait to visit and hear what you think as well. View all the kick-off celebrations at this link.

Also, during the first week of October, DMPED will also participate in Mayor Bowser’s Housing Week held in conjunction with National Community Development Week. We will kick off the events with a groundbreaking at RL Christian Library on Oct. 2, an all-new 32 unit affordable housing development with ground floor retail. The event will also include announcements about the city’s affordable housing investments from the Mayor and Department of Housing and Community Development Director Polly Donaldson. Join us by RSVP’ing here.

Stay tuned for more and see you at the Wharf! 

Sincerely,

Brian T. Kenner

#202Creates #DMPEDDelivers

On August 30, Mayor Bowser kicked off the District’s second annual 202Creates, a month-long showcase of the District’s diverse and vibrant creative community. Throughout September, 202Creates highlighted the artists, makers, and entrepreneurs who contribute to Washington, DC’s creative economy. (Catch Angie Gates On-Air!)

Home to 2,400 arts-related businesses, Washington, DC ranks #1 in creative businesses per capita, and the District’s creative economy generates more than 120,000 jobs, with 1,800 creative jobs added in just the last year. 202Creates, led by the DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment (OCTFME) and the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities, engages residents through events and activities that feature the various talents of the DC creative community from television, film, music, arts, dance, fashion, cosmetology, culinary, tech, and much more. 

Throughout the year, 202Creates promotes and amplifies Washington, DC’s creative economy through digital media marketing, original television programming, and paid performance opportunities for DC’s creatives. To date, 202Creates has supported more than 4,000 events.

On September 18, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) hosted a half-day, free conference to bring the food and beverage industry, public sector leaders and private sector resources together. 

It gave the attendees a chance to: connect with budding entrepreneurs, thriving businesses and industry giants disrupting the hospitality industry; hear from leaders in the field about how to market, grow and expand their business; sit down with experts to learn about restaurant licensing, outdoor seating requirements and other regulatory requirements; and/or check the status of their licenses. 

On September 19, Mayor Bowser launched the DC Government’s first radio station, DC Radio 96.3 HD4, making Washington, D.C. one of only two municipalities in the United States with a full-power, city-owned radio station. The station, managed by the District’s Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment (OCTFME) in partnership with WHUR Radio, will feature programming on government resources, news, emergency updates, community affairs, education, current events, arts, music, and entertainment.

In addition to offering original programming and serving as a platform for local musicians to promote their talents, DC Radio will also provide training programs and college internships for District residents.

On September 8, Deputy Mayor Kenner spoke at our 8th annual Economic Intelligence Round Table, an open dialogue between the private sector, residents, researchers and government officials about analyzing data and providing technology-driven context for economic development policy and decision-making. This year's theme was how DC Tech meshes with the creative economy for #202Creates! This event was hosted by DMPED, Chamber of Commerce and the WDCEP.

First EVER Non-Military Tenants on Walter Reed Campus

On September 21, Mayor Bowser, Deputy Mayor Kenner cut the ribbon at the District of Columbia International (DCI) and Latin American Montessori Bilingual (LAMB) Public Charter Schools, officially opening the first public building on the Parks at Walter Reed, formerly the Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus. 

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor were joined at the ribbon cutting by Deputy Mayor for Education Jennifer Niles, Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd, DCI School Executive Director Mary Shaffner, LAMB Executive Director Diane Cotman, and representatives from the master development team Hines, Urban Atlantic, and Triden. 

DCI is a Tier 1 language-focused middle and high school. Five elementary schools—Mundo Verde, Yu Ying, DC Bilingual, LAMB, and Elsie Whitlow Stokes—feed into DCI (the school also accepts students via the My DC Lottery). DCI began this school year with nearly 800 students in sixth through tenth grades. Each year, the school will add a grade until it reaches its full capacity of 1,450 middle and high schoolers in 2019. LAMB, also a Tier 1 DC charter school, provides students in Pre-K through fifth grades with a bilingual (English and Spanish) Montessori education. LAMB has three locations throughout the District, and has 200 students in first through fifth grades at the Walter Reed location.

The Parks at Walter Reed project will create 5,000 jobs, 2,100 units of housing, 432 of which will be affordable, and nearly one billion dollars in tax-generated revenue over 30 years.

On September 16, the New Communities Initiative, in partnership with Housing Opportunities Unlimited and the Walker Jones Education Campus, hosted the second annual Northwest One Homecoming and Back to School Day. Throughout the day, 300+ residents (154 community residents and 157 children) attended the event, including 19 former residents of Temple Courts or Golden Rule Center. An awesome array of activities and fun for the whole family included tutoring games and activities from Literacy Lab, soccer games from DC SCORES, Go Go Fitness classes, basketball, interactive artwork by Words, Beats & Life, moon-bounces, a waterslide, a cookout, information onsite for NCI, DME’s Everyday Counts initiative, the DC Public Library, CC Prep, carnival rides, a game truck, DPR’s fun-mobile, hula-hoops, face-painting, Emmy the 2M bulldog, a photo-booth, a DJ and live music by Familiar Faces (Team Familiar).

Residents, community members and partners had a blast kicking back and celebrating the end of summer and beginning of the school year! The Northwest One Homecoming was one of several community-building events put on by NCI throughout the year in each of its four neighborhoods where we are building vibrant mixed-income communities. 

For more information on NCI, please visit dcnewcommunities.org.

Building off the momentum of the community planning and entitlement process the New Communities Initiative (NCI) has led since late 2015, we've double downed on our efforts to engage residents and Parkview neighbors culminating with the Park + Morton Street Block Party held on Saturday, September 15. 

The Block Party was planned in collaboration with many local Parkview organizations including Georgia Avenue Thrive, Salvation Army and District Bridges. There were 676 attendees from the community and over 30 organizations, local businesses and public agencies were there to share District priorities and join the fun. It was a day full of Da GoGo Fitness classes, Model City Steppers and Dance Institute of Washington performances, a Lime Light Boxing clinic, DC Reynolds cooking demo, a water slide and other rides. See you next year!