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On July 9, Mayor
Muriel Bowser joined D.C. United, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for
Planning and Economic Development, and other District officials to cut the
ribbon on Audi Field (and welcome Wayne Rooney!), the new D.C. United soccer stadium at Buzzard Point in
Ward 6. The 20,000-seat stadium is expected to attract one million new visitors
annually and spur more than $1.6 billion in total economic activity over the
life of the stadium.
The
state-of-the-art facility is a public-private partnership that will support
more than 1,000 jobs, including 471 full-time jobs for DC residents. The
project also supported more than $60 million in contracts committed to local
CBEs.
The
new stadium also includes state-of-the-art energy and water efficiency measures
funded through a $25 million private clean energy financing deal, part of the
District’s Property Assessed Clean Energy (DC PACE) program. The innovative
green financing solution is the nation’s largest single PACE note issued to
date, and the first issued for a stadium project.
All of this came together just in time for DC United to win their home opener against the Vancouver Whitecaps on July 14th!
 “Today,
we deliver the stadium our team, our fans, and our city deserve,” said Mayor
Bowser. “Audi Field represents DC jobs for DC residents; it represents
our commitment to building pathways to the middle class in neighborhoods across
all eight wards; and it represents our status as the sports capital and a
championship city. Welcome home and vamos United!”
"With
Audi Field, we built a stadium worthy of the best players in the world, because
we know that world class cities have world class sports teams and facilities," said Mayor Bowser. "For
years, DC United was the team keeping Washington, DC a championship city, and
with the excitement from last month’s Stanley Cup victory and now the buzz
around Wayne’s arrival — I think sports fans in DC are ready to win a few more
championships!"
On July 16, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Deputy Mayor Brian Kenner celebrated the groundbreaking of Abrams Hall Senior Apartments, an
80-unit housing community for seniors on the campus of the former Walter Reed
Army Medical Center, now The Parks at Walter Reed, in Ward 4.
The Abrams Hall Senior Apartments community includes 80
affordable units, with 64 apartments targeting seniors at or below 50 percent
of the median family income (MFI) and 16 permanent supportive housing (PSH)
units for seniors at or below 30 percent MFI.
“We committed to repurposing the historic Walter Reed campus
in a way that creates the types of housing and resources the community needs –
and that includes safe and affordable apartments for seniors,” said Deputy
Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Brian Kenner. “I look forward to
coming back and welcoming seniors to their new home on Walter Reed.”
On July 19, we hosted our 3rd annual Great Streets Conference. The goal was to connect prospective applicants to all Great Street key agency
partners and community-based resources available in preparation for submittal
of a quality Great Streets application. It was also an opportunity to engage with the small business
community and demonstrate how the administration is providing opportunities for
local and small businesses to grow across the District.
"If you become a Certified Business Enterprise (CBE), it puts
us in a position where we can pour more resources into your business to
get you in a position where you can grow," said Department of Small and Local Business' Michael Bing. "Our goal, above anything else, is to grow small businesses."
The purpose of the Great Streets to transform 13
designated retail priority areas by fostering small business development with
new and existing businesses, stimulate job growth, and increase the District’s
tax base to improve commercial vibrancy along the city’s corridors and
surrounding neighborhoods.
There is a total of 55
grantees funded in FY18 receiving over $2 million in grant monies. Since 2015,
the Bowser Administration has awarded over 14 million dollars to small
businesses through Great Streets and created an estimated 2,000 full, part-time
and seasonal job opportunities.
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 Andrew
Trueblood, Chief of Staff, spoke on a
panel called “The Amazon Effect” hosted by the Washington Business Journal with neighboring economic development leaders Victor Hoskins,
Director of Arlington Economic Development and David Petr, CEO, Montgomery
County Economic Development Corp. About 200 guests attended to hear how the region is working
together to attract Amazon H2Q. DM Kenner and Andrew Trueblood received
kudos for DC’s efforts in promoting regionalism and collaboration with
neighboring jurisdictions.
#ObviouslyDC
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Deputy Mayor Brian Kenner gave welcome remarks
at the Amazon Web Service Founders Camp, a training for the
region’s leading innovators working with promising start-ups to help them
thrive. This event was presented by Amazon Web Services, BEACON, Score 3, Humble, Color Coded and Project 500!
The training had two tracks: “Tech Enabled” for
those with apps looking to expand their user base and “Emerging Business” for
those looking to gain traction with their products and companies.
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On July 20, our Audi Field project manager Ketan Gada, participated in ULI Washington NEXT
panel with DowntownDC BID and Capitol Riverfront discussing the future of the Capitol Riverfront, Audi Field, and
resources required for a new sports and entertainment venue in the District!
VAMOS UNITED!
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Enterprise mentioned DHCD's affordable housing policies on Housing Production Trust Fund, TOPA, Vacant to Vibrant and Inclusionary Zoning in its Community Partners Report. These initiatives are proven and innovative, and can help other localities address their cost drivers.
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