 Our proposal is in! Washington, D.C. is
officially competing to be the home of Amazon’s HQ2.
Amazon
HQ2 will employ up to 50,000 workers in up to
eight million square feet of office space.
Amazon has plans to invest up to $5 billion in construction over the next 10-15 years
to create its second headquarters. After
selecting a location, Amazon will occupy its first 500,000 to 1 million square
feet of office in late 2019.
In a video released September 14, the Mayor announced
Washington, DC’s plan to submit a proposal and highlighted the attractiveness
of the city and listing a number of DC’s accolades, including:
- #1 City for Women in Tech, Forbes 2017
- #1 Restaurant City, Bon Appetit 2016
- #1 Coolest City, Forbes 2014
- #1 Best City for Tech, SmartAsset 2016
- #1 for Women’s Employment and Earnings,
2016
- 1st LEED Platinum City in the
World
On October 16, Mayor Bowser announced the four locations that will be included in Washington, DC’s response to Amazon’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for its second headquarters, Amazon HQ2: Anacostia Riverfront, Capitol Hill East, Shaw-Howard University, and NoMa-Union Station. The four locations were selected because they can provide the global tech giant with the greatest opportunity to create a world-class headquarters that supports the company’s need for decades of growth.
Join the conversation on social media by using
#ObviouslyDC. To learn more about the locations visit https://www.obviouslydc.com/. To view the Mayor’s Amazon HQ2 video go HERE.
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On October 2, Mayor Bowser, Deputy Mayor Kenner, and DHCD's Director Polly Donaldson celebrated the District’s historic investments in
affordable housing at the groundbreaking ceremony of a new affordable housing
development on the site of the former R.L. Christian Library (1300 H Street,
NE). The 38,545 square-foot, mixed-use development will feature 33 housing
units – all affordable – and 5,905 square-feet of ground level retail space. Since January 2015,
the District has invested more than $276 million in Housing Production Trust Fund financing, which has
funded the production or preservation of more than 3,300 affordable units that
can house more than 7,200 residents.
 Days before the Grand Opening of The Wharf, Mayor Bowser unveiled
two new transportation options for getting to The Wharf: the Southwest DC Shuttle and Water Taxi. The free shuttle connects The Wharf to the L’Enfant
Plaza Metro/VRE station, the National Mall, and the L’Enfant Plaza on 10th
Street. Visitors can also access The Wharf using the new water taxi service
that connects from The Wharf’s Transit Pier to Georgetown, Old Town Alexandria
in Virginia, and, coming soon, National Harbor in Maryland. In addition,
construction has begun on Banneker Park which will provide a stairway and bike
paths to better connect the Waterfront with the National Mall.
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 On October 12, Mayor Bowser, Deputy Mayor Kenner, Councilmember Allen, Congresswoman Norton, and developers Monty Hoffman and
Amer Hammour
officially opened The Wharf, a new mile-long waterfront neighborhood of
residential, hotel, office, retail, and entertainment space on the Potomac
River in Southwest DC.
At completion,The Wharf will produce nearly
6,000 permanent jobs and provide $94 million in direct annual tax revenue to
the District. The District invested approximately $200 million in tax increment
financing and secured agreements with The Wharf to hire at least 51 percent
District residents, with 20 percent designated for Ward 8 residents and 30
percent of apprenticeships for residents in Wards 7 and 8. In addition, The
Wharf has invested $1 million in workforce training for residents. The Wharf estimates
that 12 to 15 million people will visit the area annually.
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 On October 17, Mayor
Bowser announced the awardees for the Neighborhood Prosperity Fund, a DMPED-led pilot program that provides financial support for non-residential components
of mixed-use projects in underserved neighborhoods in Washington, DC. Through
the Neighborhood Prosperity Fund, LDP Holdings LLC was awarded $2.1 million for
its Penn Hill project located at 3200 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE and South Capitol
Improvement LLC was awarded $880,000 for its South Capitol Affordable Housing
project located at the intersection of Atlantic and South Capitol Streets, SW.
The Neighborhood
Prosperity Fund supports mixed-used, real estate, or retail
development projects in targeted census tracts where unemployment is at 10
percent or higher. The grants provide necessary gap funding for the commercial
component of development projects and will help create job opportunities and fresh food options in food desert areas like Wards 7 and 8.
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 Hendley Elementary School got a new basketball court - and it's top of the line!
“This is a great opportunity to mix in fitness, fun, and sports in one giant project” Deputy Brian Kenner said addressing the students on the court. “And it is right down the street from the new state-of-the-art arena that we are building right here in Ward 8.” The new arena just so happens to be the future home of your Mystics.
What a great opportunity for these kids to enjoy a new court, meet Mystics players and hear from Deputy Mayor Kenner on how DC is the place to be!
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 On October 18, Deputy Mayor Kenner was on Daily Drum with Harold Fisher
on WHUR 96.3. He talked about economic development, the neighborhood prosperity fund announcement,
and Amazon before
he took questions from callers! With the proposal officially submitted, we have enjoyed every opportunity to be on-air with DC's best radio show hosts.
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Following this lead, Deputy Mayor Kenner made an appearance on FOX 5's "Good Day DC" with anchors Allison Seymour and Steve Chenevey.
Amazon, we are coming for you!
https://www.obviouslydc.com/
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On October 12, the first NeighborUP Park View night
took place. This was an amazing opportunity to met new neighbors, have great conversations, eat good food, and learn more about what it
means to "neighbor up"! This is one of the community engagement
activities in our campaign to foster dialogue and relationships between
the Park Morton public housing residents and their neighbors in the
community.
The meeting was the first of what will
be a monthly series in Park View, which means there will be more opportunities to
grow this network and continue the conversations that started about
belonging, community, and how Park View can achieve 100% resident success.
See upcoming events at http://dcnewcommunities.org/
As FY2017 Came to a Close, Mayor Bowser Highlights Unprecedented Investments in Affordable
Housing for District Residents in All Eight Wards
Mayor
Bowser highlighted more than $138 million in investments from the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) in fiscal year
2017, which ended on September 30. The HPTF investments support 23 projects
that will produce or preserve more than 1,500 affordable housing units
throughout the city. Since coming into office, the Bowser Administration has
sparked the creation or preservation of more than 8,400 affordable units, with
another 3,700 units in pre-construction.
Projects
financed through HPTF financing represent several ways that the District
produces and preserves affordable housing, such as rehabilitation, new
construction, refinancing, acquisitions, and supporting tenants’ rights to buy
their buildings through the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).
For full release/ list of projects that received HPTF Financing in FY 2017 click here.
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