“Mayor Gray Announces Walter Reed Community Advisory Group and Launches Great Streets Grants for Four Retail Corridors”

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From a press release:

Mayor Vincent C. Gray today announced the formation of the Walter Reed Community Advisory Group and launched four Great Streets grant programs to assist revitalization of commercial corridors – two in the area of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center and two in other parts of the District.

Building on the foundation created through years of planning by the citizen members of the Walter Reed Local Redevelopment Authority Committee, the Community Advisory Group will work with the District as it transitions into implementation of the Walter Reed Reuse Plan. After more than 100 years at its location, the Army moved Walter Reed’s operations to Bethesda last year.

“Launching the Walter Reed Community Advisory Group is an important milestone in the development of the site,” said Mayor Gray. “The group’s focus on Walter Reed and the new grant offerings are critical to my administration’s work to maintain the commercial vibrancy of the business and residential corridors near the Walter Reed campus as well as other parts of the District. The awards we are offering will provide small business owners with an opportunity to sustain their businesses and prepare for what is to come in the way of additional, competitive retail options for all residents to enjoy.”

Continues after the jump.

“Locally owned businesses and business owners are the economic engine of this city,” said Deputy Mayor Hoskins. “The District is offering opportunities to competitively apply for business grant offerings for physical improvements to retail spaces and is working in other ways with small business owners to keep their businesses viable in the expanding retail market for years to come. And the Walter Reed Community Advisory Group will enable the District to continue leveraging civic expertise as we advance redevelopment efforts for the site subject to the Army’s agreement and transfer.”

Walter Reed Community Advisory Group

The Walter Reed Community Advisory Group will help guide the District government’s community engagement and implementation of the Walter Reed Site Reuse Plan as the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) selects a master developer and completes the Economic Development Conveyance application for submission to the U.S. Army. Once there is agreement on the Economic Development Conveyance application, the District will enter into an agreement with the Army that will outline the transfer requirements. New Community Advisory Group members include the following:

· ANC 4A-03 Commissioner-Elect Stephen Whatley;
· Margaret Singleton, Executive Director of D.C. Chamber of Commerce Foundation;
· Tim Shuy, President of the Shepherd Park Citizens Association and Ledo’s Pizza franchise owner;
· Colonel Taro K. Jones, Ward 4 Representative for the D.C. Veterans Affairs Advisory Board;
· Alice Giancola, citizen member of the Walter Reed Local Redevelopment Authority Committee;
· Randall Clarke, Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Manager with McDonald’s Corporation and 2nd alternate citizen member of Walter Reed Local Redevelopment Authority Committee; and
· D. Kamili Anderson, Member of the D.C. State Board of Education.

For more information on development of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus on Georgia Avenue NW, please see the website.

Great Streets Grants

The Great Streets grant initiatives that Mayor Gray announced today will assist two commercial-and-residential corridors near the Walter Reed campus – along Georgia Avenue NW and the 7th Street NW/North Capitol Street area in Ward 4 and Ward 1 – as well as commercial corridors along Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE in Ward 7 and Pennsylvania Avenue SE in Ward 8.

The purpose of the Great Streets Initiative’s grant opportunities is to support existing small businesses, attract new businesses, increase the District’s tax base and create new jobs for District residents. DMPED will be awarding individual capital-improvement grants up to a maximum of $85,000 each to support and foster growth amongst small businesses in each of these four areas. Grant funds may be used to reimburse the grantee for the purpose of capital expenditures to improve the subject property. The deadline for applications is February 15, 2013. More information about the grant program can be found on the Great Streets website.