ANNUAL REPORT 2011 Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District ANNUAL REPORT About the Capitol Riverfront BID 2 Letter from the Chairman 4 & Executive Director Clean Team & 6 Hospitality Ambassadors Public Realm 8 TABLE OF Economic Development 10 Marketing, Branding & Public Relations 12 CONTENTS Community Events 14 Parks & Green Space 16 Financials 18 Board of Directors & Staff 20 STATE OF THE FRONT Development Summary 22 Office Market 26 Residential Market 30 Retail Market 34 Parks, River & 38 Environmental Sustainability The Riverwalk Trail connection linking Diamond Teague Park and Yards Park, shown here under construction, was completed in November 2011. View of the Capitol Riverfront from the Anacostia River The Front encompasses an area of approximately 500 acres located between the U.S. Capitol building and the Anacostia River. The Capitol Riverfront is already home to: ■ Daytime employment population THE CAPITOL of over 35,000 people in 6.8 million square feet of office including the Washington Navy Yard and U.S. RIVERFRONT BID Department of Transportation HQ ■ 2,677 residential units and over 3,300 residents In the Capitol Riverfront, DC’s businesses and residents ■ A 204-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel are shaping a new community in one of the largest ■ Diamond Teague Park and Piers, riverfront redevelopment projects in the United States. the Yards Park, and Virginia Avenue Park and Community Garden Located just five blocks south of the United States Capitol building, the Capitol Riverfront offers the best ■ The 41,000-seat Nationals Park baseball stadium in city living with the extraordinary advantages of a The Capitol Riverfront BID serves as riverfront setting, exceptional value, a distinct maritime the management entity for this area and industrial heritage, unique parks and riverwalk trails, and is governed by a board of directors composed of twenty-one (21) voting sports and entertainment, and proximity to Capitol Hill. members that pay the BID tax, and The Capitol Riverfront is DC’s new neighborhood on the five (5) at-large, non-voting community stakeholders that are BID tax-exempt. river, a district-within-the-District that extends the city’s The BID’s FY11 operating budget was skyline to the water’s edge. approximately $1.6 million and is funded through a special self-imposed tax that owners vote upon themselves. Our organization is staffed by seven (7) full-time professionals and eleven (11) full-time Clean Team Members and Hospitality Ambassadors. 2 SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE BID IN FY 2011 ■ Clean Teams and Hospitality Ambassadors ■ Public realm improvements ■ Economic development and business attraction efforts ■ Transportation analysis and coordination ■ Marketing, branding and public relations initiatives ■ Community building events ■ Advocacy and educational outreach for the neighborhood ■ Park maintenance and programming services The mission of the Capitol Riverfront BID is to provide management services that assist in creating a neighborhood that is clean, safe, friendly, and vibrant. The BID supports the development of the Front as a new mixed-use riverfront community in Washington, DC. Thousands of residents, employees and visitors enjoy easy access to the Capitol Riverfront via the Navy Yard Metro station UNION WHITE DOWNTOWN DC e Vi HOUSE STATION Av 23th St 23th St 19th rginia St 14th Mass land Av . Av ry e e Ma 6th St 6th 9th St 9th 12th St 12th Constitution Ave 4th St 4th St 6th 2nd St 2nd U.S. IS THE FRONT? NATIONALL MALL CAPITOL E Capitol St CAPITOL P Independence Ave ennsylvania HILL Av St 8th The Capitol Riverfront is a regional D St e Tidal Capitol Basin St 7th destination that is conveniently and St Capitol S South M Eastern centrally located. Sharing its northern aine Market Av Geor e border with Capitol Hill, the Front is I St ge Navy five blocks south of the U.S. Capitol Wa 14th Street SOUTHWEST Yard Bridge building and west of the Barracks Row shington WATERFRONT M St restaurant district. The Front is easily P N St Pa O rkwa Nationals accessible with direct connection to T East Park Potomac P St y O I V I-395 and I-295, Metrorail’s Green line at M Park R E R A A I 11th St Bridge the Navy Yard Station or Blue/Orange T C S lines at the Capitol South Station, and O Frederick VIRGINIA St 2nd R C Douglass the Circulator linking to Union Station I V NA Bridge and the Red line. Reagan National E A Reagan R Airport is only five miles away. National 1mile Airport 1kilometer 3 FROM THE BOARD CHAIR & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Greetings from the From our Friday Evening Concert Series Anacostia Riverwalk Trail in November to a variety of food and music festivals 2011, Yards Park is now connected to Capitol Riverfront BID! and even birthday parties, Yards Park Diamond Teague Park through an We hope that you enjoy the 2011 Capitol hosted over 120 events last year and elevated boardwalk trail above the river. Riverfront BID Annual Report and State attracted over 50,000 visitors. The BID of the Front development summary. It is provided maintenance, security, and 2011 also saw the signing of ten full of information and summaries that programming services for the park over restaurant leases that will help illustrate the progress that has occurred the past year. define the commercial heart of our in our neighborhood over the past year. neighborhood. The Boilermaker Shops The park also created a communal began renovation and construction 2011 affirmed what we all have believed gathering spot and “front porch” on the with the announcement of 6 restaurant —that by providing access to the river for our residents and employees, leases including a 7,000-square-foot water through a well designed park we a place to enjoy lunch, a stroll on the microbrewery and restaurant. Two would invite thousands of visitors to boardwalk, a noontime concert, a picnic additional restaurants began finish- the Capitol Riverfront and enhance our on the weekend, or a quiet moment out in the Foundry Lofts and will sense of community and place for our in the River Street gardens. Children open in spring of 2012. In addition, the residents and employees. Yards Park has discovered the magic of water on a hot mixed-use project at 1212 4th Street, proved to be a neighborhood gathering day by playing in the park’s wading pool, SE broke ground and will contain a place, as well as a regional waterfront water fountains and water wall. And with 50,000-square-foot Harris Teeter, space destination on the Anacostia River. the opening of the next segment of the for a 30,000-square-foot health club, 4 225 residential units, and another 30,000 The DC Government’s commitment to square feet of retail space. A lease was high-quality parks in our neighborhood also signed for Park Tavern restaurant continued with the construction of at Canal Park. Canal Park, overseen by the Canal Park Development Association. Scheduled Our residential development continued to deliver in Summer 2012, Canal Park and illustrated the strong desire of will contain water features, a children’s people to live, work and play by the play area, an open lawn for concerts and river while having access to multi-modal movies, a restaurant (Park Tavern) serving transit. Phase II of the EYA townhouses breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a continued construction with only a week, and one of the largest outdoor ice few homes remaining available for skating rinks in the region. It will serve sale. Our rental apartment buildings as our neighborhood square and be maintained a 95% lease/occupancy surrounded by high-density residential rate, while the Capitol Hill Coop is 96% and office development. sold and occupied. The Foundry Lofts, a 170-unit apartment building in a former None of these accomplishments industrial building, preleased 50% of would have been possible without the the units before opening in November commitment of our board members and 2011. The Capitol Riverfront residential property owners, residents, a variety population is expected to approach of DC Government agencies, the office 4,000 people in 2012. of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development, our Council The office market progressed as well Member Tommy Wells, our hard-working with the delivery of 1015 Half Street, SE, Clean & Safe Team members, and a and the ongoing renovation of 200 I dedicated BID staff. You all embrace Street, SE into an office building for three the vision to create a vibrant riverfront DC Government agencies. This former neighborhood, and we appreciate your Washington Star/Post print building will commitment, dedication, and support. deliver in June of 2012 and be home to over 1,200 employees. We invite you to come join us by the river as the vision and aspirations become reality and a new community continues to evolve and grow. Best wishes, Eric Siegel Michael Stevens Chairman AICP BID BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THE COHEN COMPANIES CAPITOL RIVERFRONT BID 5 Capitol Riverfront Clean Team and Hospitality Ambassadors An ambassador stationed at the New Jersey Avenue Metro entrance Percentage of survey respondents that view the Capitol Riverfront as Clean or Very Clean & HOSPITALITY AMBASSADORS The Capitol Riverfront BID’s Clean Team maintains the day-to-day cleanliness and appearance of the neighborhood while the BID’s Hospitality Ambassadors are stationed near the Metro entrances to greet passersby, answer questions and monitor activity on the street. 6 A Clean Team member removing trash Number of information requests answered in 2011 An ambassador provides directions to a visitor exiting the Navy Yard Metro station he Clean Team and Hospitality The two Hospitality Ambassadors “You have a great team of T Ambassadors create an attractive greet passersby, answer questions and welcoming environment in the and provide directions, and actively guys in the blue uniforms.