|
Home
Bibliography
Calendar
Columns
Dorothy Brizill
Bonnie Cain
Jim Dougherty
Gary Imhoff
Phil Mendelson
Mark David Richards
Sandra Seegars
DCPSWatch
DCWatch
Archives
Council Period 12
Council Period 13
Council Period 14
Election 1998
Election 2000
Election 2002
Elections
Election
2004
Election 2006
Government and People
ANC's
Anacostia Waterfront Corporation
Auditor
Boards and Com
BusRegRefCom
Campaign Finance
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Management Officer
City Council
Congress
Control Board
Corporation Counsel
Courts
DC2000
DC Agenda
Elections and Ethics
Fire Department
FOI Officers
Inspector General
Health
Housing and Community Dev.
Human Services
Legislation
Mayor's Office
Mental Health
Motor Vehicles
Neighborhood Action
National
Capital Revitalization Corp.
Planning and Econ. Dev.
Planning, Office of
Police Department
Property Management
Public Advocate
Public Libraries
Public Schools
Public Service Commission
Public Works
Regional Mobility Panel
Sports and Entertainment Com.
Taxi Commission
Telephone Directory
University of DC
Water and Sewer Administration
Youth Rehabilitation Services
Zoning Commission
Issues in DC Politics
Budget issues
DC Flag
DC General, PBC
Gun issues
Health issues
Housing initiatives
Mayor’s mansion
Public Benefit Corporation
Regional Mobility
Reservation 13
Tax Rev Comm
Term limits repeal
Voting rights, statehood
Williams’s Fundraising Scandals
Links
Organizations
Appleseed Center
Cardozo Shaw Neigh.Assoc.
Committee of 100
Fed of Citizens Assocs
League of Women Voters
Parents United
Shaw Coalition
Photos
Search
What Is DCWatch?
themail
archives
|
The Economic Resurgence of Washington, DC:
Citizens Plan for Prosperity in the 21st Century
The Strategic Economic Development Plan for Washington, DC, and The Economic Summit
are co-sponsored by the District of Columbia Government, the Financial Responsibility and
Management Assistance Authority, United States Department of Commerce Economic Development
Administration, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Fannie Mae, and the World Bank
Coordinators: Richard Monteilh and Dr. Marc Weiss
District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development
November 1998
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Plan: Growing the Private Sector
The Industry Networks
The Cross-Cutting Policy Working Groups
Next Steps
Description of 40 Key Actions
CHAPTER ONE: THE WASHINGTON, DC, ECONOMY
The Washington Metropolitan Economy
Employment Is Climbing Back Up
Capital Investment Is Expanding
Crime Is Down and Social
Conditions Are Improving
Conclusion
CHAPTER TWO: STRATEGIC INDUSTRIES
The Importance of Industry Networks
What Are the Industry Networks and
What Is Being Done about Them?
Business
Professional/Financial/Association Services
Hospitality/Entertainment/Tourism/Specialty
Retail Universities/Educational/Research
Institutions
Biomedical Research/Health Services
Media/Publications
Information
Technology/Telecommunications
Growing Businesses and Jobs Across the
Private Sector
Conclusion
CHAPTER THREE: STRATEGIC POPULATIONS
Workforce Development
Attracting and Retaining
Residents
Conclusion
CHAPTER FOUR: STRATEGIC AREAS
Downtown
Opportunity: Developing
Downtown
Opportunity: NoMa — North of
Massachusetts Avenue
Neighborhoods
Opportunity: Metro Stations
Opportunity: Targeted
Neighborhood Economic Development
Opportunity: Community
Development Corporations
Opportunity: Brownfields Clean-Up and
Redevelopment
Conclusion
CHAPTER FIVE: IMPLEMENTATION
Key Actions
Conclusion
CONCLUSION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
APPENDIX: 40 KEY ACTIONS
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
WASHINGTON, DC. It s a city with resources on a par with New York, London, Tokyo, Paris
— other world-class cities around the globe. Within its borders, a well-educated and
culturally diverse workforce lives in a setting of special attractions: one-of-a-kind
museums and galleries, a vibrant economy, tree-filled parks, historic and picturesque
neighborhoods, quality housing, and safe and efficient public transportation. The city is
unsurpassed as a center of knowledge and expertise, a major communications hub, and a
prolific generator of ideas and information.
So when hundreds of Washington, DC's private entrepreneurs, community leaders, public
officials, and urban experts joined together to create the city's first Strategic Economic
Development Plan, our challenge was not to determine how we can put in place the
fundamentals that make a city great, but rather how best to capitalize on our abundant
assets.
While Washington, DC is strong, its strength is under-appreciated by the nation's media
and even by some of its own residents. A past period of declining jobs and population,
rising crime, and controversial local politics gave the city a negative image that has
been too slow to change. But today's reality is very different. The city's economy is
improving — private sector jobs are growing again, homeownership is increasing, and
crime has substantially declined. Money Magazine recently rated the Washington, DC
area as the "best place to live" among large metropolitan regions in the
Northeastern United States.
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
THE PLAN: GROWING THE PRIVATE SECTOR
The good news about our economic future — and the good news in this report —
is that progress has already begun. The pages that follow don't simply lay out a blueprint
for what should be done in order for the city to meet with success. Instead, this report
is filled with ideas that are already being implemented and are already succeeding.
Many people will greet this news with surprise. After all, as everyone knows, the
federal government, the main economic force that fueled the region's growth for the past
two centuries, has been cutting thousands of jobs during the past few years. But while
government employment is shrinking, the city has been hard at work doing what other cities
faced with major factory closings or economic shifts have done: we've been diversifying.
For Washington, DC, diversification means grooving the private sector. As a city well
suited for the "New Economy" of the 21st century, we have begun to turn our
knowledge and information base, our technological and communications strengths, and our
position as a global center into building blocks of prosperity for our businesses and
residents.
Achieving this diversification will do no less than propel the fortunes of Washington,
DC to new heights. A year from now, those living and working in the city will see the
results. Important indicators of success will include: I ) rising family incomes and
reduced poverty and unemployment; 2) increased revenues with lower tax rates; 3) rebuilt
and thriving neighborhoods; 4) a larger residential population and move homeownership; 5)
accelerating capital investment and physical development; 6) growth in conventions and
tourism; and 7) improved infrastructure, safety, schools, environment, and overall quality
of life.
While some of this work has already begun, it has not happened and will not continue on
its own. The city needs to plan for prosperity, to design and carry out a strategy for
grooving businesses, jobs, people, and communities. That's what economic development is
all about — knowing what direction to move in and how to get there.
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
There is some debate as to how a city like Washington, DC gets from where we are today
to greater prosperity and higher quality of life. Some say to achieve economic development
we must focus on reducing neighborhood poverty and deterioration. Others think it comes
from reducing taxes and regulations, or providing special incentives for businesses.
Another view is that economic development grows out of the building of large, big-ticket
projects like the MCI Center. Indeed, it can and does include all of these things, but by
themselves they are not the overarching focus for promoting and sustaining economic
prosperity.
We believe the best way to strengthen an economy and open its markets is to invest in
the fundamentals that make our city, or any city, strong: transportation and
infrastructure, education and workforce development. research and technology, housing,
environment, and quality of life. The vitality of these fundamentals is what makes the
city an attractive place for businesses to establish themselves, for people to put doves
roots, and for families to thrive.
The question then becomes: how can we grow and further solidify our already substantial
base of strength? The answer by investing in what we call Industry Networks. These are
networks of linked businesses and industries whose specialized and diverse goods and
services can compete most effectively in the global marketplace; reach the widest sources
of export-based, high-value demand; and exhibit a dynamic synergy that links suppliers and
contractors across a wide chain of products and services. Industry Networks are the main
engines of economic prosperity for cities and regions.
Industry Networks are the leading edge of business and job growth in the city. They are
responsible for the bulk of the income brought into the city from markets located outside
of it, across the country and around the world. Washington, DC's engines of prosperity for
the 21st century consist of six key Industry Networks:
Business / Professional / Financial /Association Services
Hospitality / Entertainment / Tourism / Specialty Retail
Universities / Educational / Research Institutions
Biomedical Research / Health Services
Media / Publications
Information Technology / Telecommunicating
In the metropolitan Washington region, these six Industry Networks accounted for over
1.3 million jobs in 1996, 55 percent of total private sector employment. From 1980 to
1996, jobs in the six networks combined grew by 90 percent across the region. Within
Washington, DC, these six Industry Networks employ nearly 300,000 people, almost
two-thirds of the city's private jobs. They are the brightest stars in our city's economic
sky — stars that will light the way to a more prosperous future.
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
This plan was written by Washingtonians for Washingtonians. All of those participants
were citizen leaders who have a vital stake in the economic future of the city and who
will be responsible for the successful completion of the many important tasks the plan
identifies. We formed six active and ongoing Industry Network groups with business,
community, and government leaders taking on major projects to grow businesses and jobs in
the city. In addition, we created six cross-cutting policy working groups to focus on a
broader set of issues that must be addressed to expand prosperity and quality of life for
every family and community in Washington, DC. Working closely together, hundreds of
citizen experts focused on three broad approaches to producing: successful economic
outcomes:
STRATEGIC INDUSTRIES
- Business Promotion: growing businesses and jobs by investing in marketing and
incentives; business retention and attraction
- Business Climate: improving the tax and regulatory environment and overall service
delivery system
STRATEGIC POPULATIONS
- Workforce Development: encouraging the growth of a strong residential and workforce base
by emphasizing quality education. job training, and placement
- Attracting and Retaining Residents: enhancing the quality of life through increasing
homeownership and improving schools. safety, cultural and recreational amenities
STRATEGIC AREAS
- Downtown: planning and developing downtown to generate commercial activity, stores and
services, transportation, housing, arts and culture, and recreation
- Neighborhoods: planning and developing neighborhoods to generate commercial and
industrial activity, stores and services, transportation, housing, arts and culture, and
recreation
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
At meetings conducted throughout the city over the past year, we have met with the
cynicism of business owners and community residents who have had their hopes for a better
city dashed too many times by too many different reports. Their trust shattered, they have
demanded to know why this report, and why the work of this large group of citizens, is any
different.
In response, we commissioned an annotated bibliography of the reports that had been
written in the past, and used them as our starting point. We became more committed than
ever to the principle that this report would be one of action — not merely debate,
conversation, or policy analysis. This is a plan that doesn't have to wait for increased
funding from the city government or Congress. It does depend on continuing the
implementation already put in place by the many citizens who demonstrated their powerful
commitment to the future of this city through their active involvement in the planning
process. This plan is the product of a broad-based, consensus-building effort that
literally included more than 400 business, civic, community, and government leaders.
These participants saw their role as not only composing an effective plan, but in
moving the people and organizations of Washington, DC from cynicism and inertia to
enthusiasm and momentum. To that end, our 30 member steering committee developed 40 key
actions, programs that you'll see highlighted throughout these pages, the centerpiece of
implementing the overall plan. These 40 actions emerged from the six Industry Networks and
the six Cross-Cutting Policy Working Groups focusing on Strategic Industries, Strategic
Populations, and Strategic Areas. The 40 actions were selected because they fulfill three
main criteria:
- they are bold and innovative;
- they will make a real difference in accomplishing the overall strategy of growing
businesses, jobs, population, neighborhoods, and prosperity;
- they will all be initiated — and many of them will be completed — during the
next 12 months.
These 40 key actions by themselves, or even taken together, are not the sum total of
the plan. They are a downpayment, the first steps in implementing the strategy —
essential steps for developing momentum and generating a track record of success. In
future years, we will build on the results achieved from these first actions by launching
broader, longer term initiatives to grow our economy and strengthen our families and
communities.
The strategy you will see unfold in this report comes mainly from the hard work and
talent of our numerous plan participants. In addition, it is based on the results of major
research projects conducted by a team of highly respected local and national experts.
Their reports include:
How to grow Industry Networks (Steven Waldhorn and James Gollub of ICE
Kaiser);
Universities and graduate business schools promoting inner city
entrepreneurship (Dr. Michael Porter and Monica Dean of Harvard Business School
and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City);
Federal procurement spending in the city and region (Dr. Stephen
Fuller of George Mason University);
Commercial revitalization around neighborhood Metro stations (David
Lee and Derrick Woody of Stull and Lee Architects and Planners);
Workforce development and attracting / retaining residents (Thomas
Kingsley and Margery Austin Turner of the Urban Institute);
Demographic and homeownership trends (George Grier of the Greater
Washington Research Center);
Creating an effective local delivery system (Jeffrey Finkle and Shari
Carmise of the Council for Urban Economic Developments,
Location of federal jobs in the city and region (Viki Reath of Reath
Communications).
Again, implementation does not depend on waiting for something to happen in the future.
It does not depend on dramatic changes in the city government. The plan's implementation
is happening right now. Many actions already have begun, and all are designed to be
completed or at least significantly moved forward within the coming year.
Further, the plan recommends establishing an ongoing monitoring group, consisting of
business, civic, community and government leaders who will meet monthly and follow the
progress of carrying out all 40 key actions. the monitoring group also will help organize
a one-year anniversary Economic Summit for next November. At this summit, we will report
on the successes of turning the strategic plan into reality for the benefit of our city's
businesses, families and communities, and launch phase two of the continuing action plan
leading our city's economy into the next century.
As you'll see in the following pages, this plan is about results. After all, results
are the only things that really matter to you and all the other people who will be most
deeply affected by the plan's successful implementation. To you, we bring this optimistic
message of commitment: we can do this, we will do this, and we have already begun.
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
1. STRATEGIC INDUSTRIES
A. GROW INDUSTRY NETWORKS
ACTION 1: REDUCE TAXES TO ENCOURAGE BUSINESS USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY
Implement tax reductions to promote new technology in business firms, including
accelerated depreciation of computer equipment, reducing taxes on software development,
and eliminating the tax on internet access.
ACTION 2: CREATE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY PLAN FOR THE ENTIRE CITY
Generate a comprehensive Hospitality Industry Plan to attract visitors and tourists to
spend more time and money during the day and in the evening at sites and businesses both
downtown and in Washington, DC's culturally rich and diverse neighborhoods.
ACTION 3: INVOLVE UNIVERSITIES IN SUPPORTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Encourage local universities to provide technical and financial packaging assistance
for small business entrepreneurs, including minority and community-based firms. In this
inner-city economic development initiatives, universities also will reach out to the
business community to establish a mentoring network for small entrepreneurs, as well as
conduct field studies, special courses, research, policy analysis and other related
economic development activities.
ACTION 4: STREAMLINE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY REGULATIONS
Level the regulatory playing field with health care providers in the surrounding region
by simplifying the Certificate of Need process, permitting procedures, and licensing
requirements
ACTION 5: LAUNCH A MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO IMPROVE THE CITY'S IMAGE
Mount a comprehensive three-year print and broadcast media campaign, starting with a
videotape on the Strategic Economic Development Plan, to improve the city's image in the
region and around the world.
ACTION 6: ESTABLISH A TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL TO ATTRACT AND EXPAND FIRMS
Establish a Washington, DC Technology Council to support attraction and expansion of
technology-based business firms and jobs in the city,
B. GROW BUSINESSES AND JOBS
ACTION 7: EXPAND THE MARKETING CENTER TO RETAIN AND ATTRACT FIRMS
Increase funding to expand the Washington, DC Marketing Center by adding staff and
resources for aggressively retaining and attracting businesses and jobs, targeting firms
in the Industry Networks with special incentives and marketing campaigns to generate 1,000
new jobs annually. The Marketing Center would work with the public and private sectors to
improve the availability of information needed for economic development, including an
Early Warning System for potential business relocations, computerized geographic
information systems, and an ongoing census of firms and associations conducting business
within the city.
ACTION 8 IMPLEMENT REFORMS IN CONSUMER AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS
Take immediate action to implement recently adopted management reforms and legislation,
especially the recommendations of the Business Regulatory Reform Commission, to transform
the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs into a more responsible agency.
ACTION 9: PROVIDE TARGETED INCENTIVES TO GROW FIRMS AND EXPAND JOBS
Provide incentives for business, such as MCI-WorldCom, to relocate and/or expand in
Washington, DC, connecting these incentives to encouraging employment opportunities for
city residents.
ACTION 10: ASSIST LOCAL FIRMS IN OBTAINING FEDERAL AND PRIVATE CONTRACTS
Provide local firms with technical assistance in bidding on federal procurement
contracts to capture a larger share of this rapidly growing multi-billion dollar activity
for Washington, DC's companies and workers. Also, work with other major employers and
institutions, such as the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, International
Monetary Fund, Fannie Mae and many others to increase contracts for the city's companies
to provide goods and services.
ACTION 11: INCREASE CAPITAL AVAILABILITY FOR COMMUNITY-BASED BUSINESSES
Utilize various tools to expand available capital financing for business start-ups and
expansion, and for neighborhood economic development, including community development
financial institutions such as the CityFirst Bank, Community Reinvestment Act commitments
from mainstream fending institutions, and public programs offered by the Small Business
Administration and other entities.
ACTION 12: PROMOTE METROPOLITAN COOPERATION FOR MUTUAL ECONOMIC BENEFIT
Promote metropolitan cooperation that serves the combined economic interests of the
city and the region, including connecting Washington, DC's residents to Metropolitan lobs,
creating NoMa as a multimedia / technology district focused on generating information
technology and telecommunications businesses, extending Metrorail to Dulles Airport to
strengthen the ties between downtown Washington, DC and metropolitan growth, co-sponsoring
the Olympic Games to be held in the Washington-Baltimore region during the summer of 2012,
promoting the Washington, DC Bicentennial in the year 2000, developing the Empowerment
Zone as a partnership of Washington, DC and Prince George's County, and having the
Washington, DC Marketing Center work actively with the Greater Washington Initiative in
marketing the region to attract and retain businesses and jobs.
ACTION 13: STRENGTHEN ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Work to improve the city's partnership with the federal government by aggressively
marketing available incentives, focusing on the redevelopment of surplus property,
exploring options for increased funding, making greater use of federal agency resources,
and promoting innovating economic development efforts such as the US Navy's "Bridges
to Friendship" initiative tied to expansion of employment at the Navy Yard. Through
the Washington DC Marketing Center, monitor and take action to prevent federal jobs and
agencies from leaving the city, as well as actively recruit federal employment back from
locations outside the city.
II. STRATEGIC POPULATIONS
A. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
ACTION 14: ESTABLISH THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD AS A CLEARINGHOUSE
Establish the Workforce Investment Board (WIB) as a public-private partnership in
Washington, DC serving as a central clearinghouse and network to link education,
community-based support services, skills training, and job placement with employers and
industry associations. The WIB should promote and enforce standards of accountability and
performance by job training providers, and spearhead management reforms in the Department
of Employment Services.
ACTION 15: EXPAND THE ROLE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Build the capacity of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) to meet the
needs of the Industry Networks and other major employers by expanding Associate Degree
programs to complement the existing four-year curriculum.
ACTION 16: SUPPORT PUBLIC "SCHOOL-TO-CAREER" PROGRAMS AND CHARTER SCHOOLS
Provide resources for public "school-to-career" programs and public charter
schools to train students for jobs in growing industries such as hospitality and
information technology.
ACTION 17: CONNECT WASHINGTON DC RESIDENTS TO METROPOLITAN JOBS
Enable the city's residents to obtain good jobs throughout metropolitan Washington by
supporting the Regional Jobs Initiative, Bridges to Work, and similar partnership
activities linking suburban employers with city-based providers of job training and
placement, transportation, child care, and related support services.
B. ATTRACTING AND RETAINING RESIDENTS
ACTION 18: PROMOTE HOMEOWNERSHIP WITH EMPLOYERS, CHURCHES, AND SCHOOLS
Working through the Washington DC, Partners in Homeownership, recruit major
neighborhood employers such as universities and hospitals, and key community institutions
including churches and schools, to offer incentives for moving to and living in
Washington, DC's neighborhoods and generating 1,000 new homeowners annually.
ACTION 19: INCREASE DOWNTOWN HOUSING AND MIXED-USE RETAIL, SERVICES AND ARTS
Increase rental housing and homeownership in the downtown area east of 15th Street, NW,
by making more publicly owned sites available for residential and mixed-use development
including retail stores and services, by providing tax increment financing, and by
offering land use incentives such as zoning modifications which grant commercial and
retail density bonuses to encourage housing development. Construct or expand arts,
entertainment, and cultural activities and facilities in and near downtown, including a
new national music museum.
ACTION 20: SUPPORT AND DEVELOP NEIGHBORHOOD ARTS, CULTURE, AND TOURISM
Provide increased public and private financial support for neighborhood tourism,
historic heritage tours, arts festivals and cultural activities, and create a citywide
Heritage Tourism Trail including the African-American Civil War Memorial and other sites.
Establish a non-profit Cultural Development Corporation to build and / or manage arts,
entertainment, cultural, and specialty retail activities and facilities in neighborhoods
throughout the city.
ACTION 21: DEMOLISH AND REDEVELOP BLIGHTED PROPERTIES
Condemn, acquire and demolish vacant and blighted buildings in Washington, DC's
neighborhoods and make the land available to those who have a feasible plan for
redevelopment. Grant the Condemnation Board the legislative authority to demolish property
consistent with historic preservation guidelines.
ACTION 22: ENHANCE COMMUNITY SAFETY BY IMPOUNDING CARS USED IN CRIME
Remove barriers to implementation of existing laws by developing a secured parking lot
for motor vehicles used in criminal activities that are confiscated and impounded by
police officers.
III. STRATEGIC AREAS
A. DOWNTOWN
ACTION 23: ATTRACT RETAIL INVESTMENT DOWNTOWN IN THE F STREET CORRIDOR
Attract investment to the F Street retail corridor and the Woodward and Lothrop
building downtown through public-private cooperation.
ACTION 24: USE RELOCATION OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES TO ENHANCE DEVELOPMENT
Redevelop the Department of Employment Services (DOES) building at Sixth Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, for mixed-use space, including housing, and build a new
headquarters for DOES as part of a neighborhood development strategy.
ACTION 25: CREATE PARKING FACILITIES FOR TOUR BUSES
Establish centrally-located parking facilities for tour and charter buses, trucks, and
other large commercial vehicles, in order to reduce downtown and neighborhood traffic
congestion, noise and air pollution, and make downtown more attractive and welcoming to
visitors. Provide convenient local transportation and other amenities at these sites to
promote tourist use, and encourage bus companies to create more jobs in the city for local
residents.
ACTION 26: DEVELOP NOMA AS A TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA, HOUSING AND ARTS DISTRICT
Develop "NoMa" — North of Massachusetts Avenue — as a new mixed-use
information technology, communications media, arts and entertainment, and housing district
in the area from the new Washington Convention Center to Union Station and north to New
York Avenue. Create special financial incentives for technology firms in NoMa by abating
or reducing all city taxes. The Department of Housing and Community Development should
support a NoMa plan to identity major opportunities for private and public development.
Implement the foreign trade zone and establish an "inland port" in the New York
Avenue corridor to promote international business activities and make use of federal
foreign trade incentives.
B. NEIGHBORHOODS
ACTION 27: FOCUS BUSINESS ACTIVITY NEAR NEIGHBORHOOD METRO STATIONS
Provide public and private incentives for investment in the areas around neighborhood
Metro stations, targeting both existing stations like Anacostia and newly constructed
stations such as Columbia Heights. Those Metro stations will serve as the primary anchors
for economic development in neighborhoods, with an emphasis on promoting community
shopping facilities, banks, and related office, commercial, retail, and tourist activity
to expand businesses, jobs and services.
ACTION 28: CREATE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS FOR NEIGHBORHOODS
Create Business Improvement Districts (BlDs) or "BlD-like" organizations, and
provide increased support for Merchants' Associations in neighborhood commercial areas to
offer increased cleanliness, attractiveness, public safety and security, stereoscope
improvements, and coordinated marketing campaigns.
ACTION 29: BUILD A METRO STATION AT NEW YORK AVENUE TO SPUR DEVELOPMENT
Create a public-private financing mechanism to build a new Metrorail station on the
existing Red Line near New York Avenue and Florida Avenue NE, enabling a large area of
currently vacant and underutilized land and buildings to be developed for thousands of new
jobs and housing opportunities.
ACTION 30: HAVE FEDERAL INCENTIVES COVER EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE CITY
Encourage the Congress to pass Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's bill applying the
special Enterprise Zone economic incentives to every census tract in Washington, DC.
ACTION 31: USE NAVY YARD EXPANSION TO GENERATE LOCAL BUSINESS AND JOBS
Using 5,000 new jobs as leverage, expand the Washington Navy Yard by redeveloping the
surrounding area and generating business activity and employment on both sides of the
Anacostia River. In preparation, the Department of Housing and Community Development
should provide funding for an economic development plan to attract new investment in the
Southeast/Southwest waterfront area.
ACTION 32: REBUILD EAST OF THE RIVER WITH MAJOR STORES AND HOMEOWNERSHIP
Produce a comprehensive development plan for East of the River neighborhoods promoting
community and regional retail and office space around Metro stations and other large sites
such as Camp Simms, St. Elizabeth's, and the Anacostia River waterfront, combined with a
strong focus on increasing homeownership, and reducing the concentration of blighted and
vacant apartment buildings.
ACTION 33: INVEST IN GEORGIA AVENUE TO GROW JOBS AND IMPROVE COMMUNITIES
Focusing on key anchors such as Howard University, the new Washington Convention
Center, two existing and two Metro stations under construction, and the Eastern Avenue
gateway, build a public-private partnership to enhance business activity and create jobs
by attracting new commercial investment and development along Georgia Avenue. At the same
time, strengthen the quality of life, improve public works, public education, and public
surety, and increase affordable homeownership by renovating housing and expanding home
financing in adjacent residential neighborhoods.
ACTION 34: USE THE EMPOWERMENT ZONE TO INCREASE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
Take advantage of the city's joint Empowerment Zone application with Prince Georges'
County as a means to enhance economic investment in targeted neighborhoods.
ACTION 35: INCREASE SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS
Increase public and private support for technical assistance provided to community
development corporations and community-based organizations to expand their capacity to
develop businesses, jobs, commercial and residential buildings.
ACTION 36: CLEAN UP AND REDEVELOP HAZARDOUS "BROWNFIELD" SITES
Clean up and redevelop environmentally hazardous 'brownfields' sites, providing new
business and job opportunities for environmentally sensitive activities and expanding
available land resources for economic development.
IV. IMPLEMENTATION
ACTION 37: PROVIDE ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
Establish a position, such as a Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, to serve as a
main point of contact for business, and to coordinate economic development activities
conducted by city departments and agencies, including the new Office of Economic
Development to be created by the Department of Housing and Community Development and the
Economic Development Council being established by the Chief Management Officer. The Deputy
Mayor's office would focus primarily on administrative and policy coordination, rather
than on expediting large projects or negotiating development deals. For example, this
office would design a comprehensive asset management strategy to more effectively utilize
available surplus city-owned property designated for economic development. The Deputy
Mayor would be responsible for coordinating city government implementation of the
Strategic Economic Development Plan for Washington, DC, working in collaboration with the
new National Capital Revitalization Corporation, the private sector, and community groups.
ACTION 38: IMPLEMENT THE CITYWIDE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Implement the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) as a non-profit,
citywide economic development organization to make loans or investments in projects and
businesses, buy and sell land and buildings, perform additional development-related
functions, and incorporate other public and private economic development activities and
programs.
ACTION 39: IMPROVE BUDGET COORDINATION AND REGULATORY STREAMLINING
Create an Office of Management and Budget in the Mayor's Office to evaluate and monitor
departments and agencies, and to coordinate budget, regulatory, and policy priorities with
the goal of promoting a business and resident-friendly city. Adopt clearinghouse
recommendations of the Business Regulatory Reform Commission that establish comprehensive
evaluation and monitoring functions.
ACTION 40: ESTABLISH ONGOING MONITORING TO IMPLEMENT THE 40 KEY ACTIONS
Establish an ongoing group of business, civic, community and government leaders to
monitor on a regular basis the progress of the Strategic Economic Development Plan for
Washington, DC, and particularly to implement the 40 key actions during the coming year.
Both the Industry Networks and the Monitoring Group will meet monthly to move forward all
40 action initiatives. They will delineate explicit goals and set measurable performance
standards as benchmarks to monitor the results produced. Also they will establish clear
lines of accountability and responsibility for completing each project, and prepare
quarterly progress reports covering each of the 40 actions. Implementation of each action
will be led by an ad hoc group of key stakeholder organization and one or more designated
leaders will commit to bringing each of the 40 action groups together, focusing on
successfully achieving the desired outcomes within the next 12 months.
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
CHAPTER ONE: THE WASHINGTON, DC ECONOMY
This effort to put forward a viable strategy for the city's economic growth is
based on careful study of its existing and potential strengths and weaknesses. At every
step of the way, through conversations with business experts and community leaders,
researchers and managers, we tried to look at the city with fresh eyes — unclouded by
past perceptions and prejudices.
What up found was exciting. Like a talented baseball player who spends too many innings
on the bench, never getting his turn at bat. our city is bursting with ability and energy
that have too long gone untapped.
Our general findings tell us that the city is showing important signs of strength and
momentum:
The Washington, DC economy is diversifying, and private employment is rising
Capital investment is rising
Public safety and social conditions are improving
Although our optimism about the future of this city runs deep, what you will read in
the following pages is not a pollyanna-like view of our present situation. Instead, we
provide a hard look at the weaknesses present in a city whose overall health is very good.
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
Metropolitan Washington has changed dramatically over the past 28 years. Its economy is
almost twice as large as it was in 1970, employing 3 million workers, nearly twice the
1970 total. Back in 1970, 42 percent of the metropolitan labor force worked in the city.
By 1996, however, that figure had dropped to 23 percent. Clearly, employment in the
suburbs has grown much faster than in the city.
The Washington region is doing much better than most of the nation's 25 largest
metropolitan areas. Of these top 25, metropolitan Washington has:
- The lowest rate of unemployment.
- The lowest share of households receiving public assistance.
- The highest median income.
- The highest percent of the adult population with a college degree.
It is a fact that the number of government jobs in metropolitan Washington has been
shrinking. This circumstance — once unthinkable planners who counted on the federal
government as the ever abundant golden goose — has had a profound impact on the
metropolitan economy The loss of federal government jobs pushed the region into
diversifying its employment base.
Diversification is a good thing. No matter how fat the golden goose once seemed,
economies, and the people who live and work within them, thrive when opportunities are
more diverse. Metropolitan Washington is better off with a wider range of employers.
Private sector employment in the region more than doubled between 1970 and 1996 and now
accounts for 80 percent of all metropolitan jobs.
Recent studies by Dr. Stephen Fuller show that from 1990 to 1996, the same period in
which federal jobs were cut in the region by 8 percent, the number of private jobs
increased by a quite substantial 7 percent. This news is more impressive when you consider
that core industry downsizing typically leads to exponentially higher shrinkage in related
jobs supporting that industry. Thus, the private job growth noted by Dr. Fuller signifies
a very healthy trend for the metropolitan economy.
Dr. Fuller found that a good deal of this private job growth was still tied to the
federal government While federal employment was down, the amount of money the federal
government pays for various services provided by private employers is way up. Moreover,
the new jobs created by government purchasing from the private sector were very different
from the jobs that federal agencies were eliminating from their own payrolls. Most of the
newly procured goods and services were in higher-skilled and more highly-paid private
sector occupations.
Unfortunately, according to a new study by Dr. Stephen Fuller prepared for the
Strategic Economic Development Plan, only 1.6 percent of the jobs supported by $22 billion
in annual federal procurement spending in the Washington region are actually located
within the city of Washington. DC., and many of these 3.000 lobs are held by suburban
residents.
The city being much harder hit by the direct loss of federal jobs due to downsizing
— 82 percent of the entire regions federal job loss between July 1993 and July 1998
occurred in Washington, DC, which lost a total of 46,000 federal jobs during this
five-year period. Even worse, the city is falling far behind in benefiting from the
tremendous wave of federal procurement spending that is propelling regional private sector
growth. During the past 15 years, federal procurement spending grew just 21.5 percent
nationwide, but increased by an astonishing 228.4 percent in metropolitan Washington.
Indeed, the Washington region's share jumped from 4.2 percent of the national total of
federal procurement spending in 1983, all the way up to 11.4 percent of the total by 1997.
Virtually all of the direct and indirect business and job growth resulting from that
massive rise in federal spending is taking place in suburban Virginia and Maryland, with
hardly any of directly benefiting the city's businesses or residents.
In the face of this competitive challenge, the good news is that recent changes in
social and economic conditions are helping to turn things around in Washington, DC.
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
While the city's core industry has cut jobs, and although the city has not captured as
many federal procurement dollars and jobs as the rest of the region, some of the key
numbers are beginning to improve.
Private sector jobs in the city rose by 2 percent in 1997, a net increase of 8,500
jobs, representing a truly dramatic rise at a time when federal and local government
employment was still shrinking.
During 1997, 600 new businesses were launched in the city, 20 percent more than the
previous year.
The number of employed Washington, DC residents is finally increasing, rising from
243,800 in mid-1997 to 248,700 in mid-1998, a 2 percent jump.
The size of the resident labor force (those employed as well as those actively looking
for work) has started to grow, from 266,400 to 273,800 during the past year.
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
The new MCI Center has sparked business and tourism activity for blocks around, with
current estimates of new building investment in the nearby downtown area totaling more
than $3.1 billion, including over 10 million square feet of new office space and more than
1,700 new hotel rooms. The number of annual visitors to downtown arts, culture, and
entertainment venues increased from 4 million in 1996 to 7 million this year.
Indeed, the city is once again the predominant office investment market in the region,
with net absorption of over 1.1 million square feet of office space in 1997, and a 30
percent increase in office occupancy rates between 1992 and 1997.
The new Washington, DC Convention Center is expected to pump $ 1.1 billion into the
region's economy in 2003, its first year of operation, a figure that will reach $1.4
billion by its fifth year.
A public-private partnership has recently established three Business Improvement
Districts (BlDs) in the city — Downtown DC, the Golden Triangle, and Georgetown
— reflecting a commitment to improving and maintaining a high-quality "clean,
safe, and friendly" business and tourist environment in the city's major commercial
employment centers.
Homeownership and property values are on the rise. Homes sold in Washington, DC
during the first half of 1998 increased by 48 percent over the same period in 1997 —
a percentage rise far higher than any suburban county in the region or any other city in
America. The 1998 increase came on top of a 30 percent jump in home sales in the city
during 1997. Washington, DC's home prices in 1998 are 9 percent higher than in 1995, and
the percentage of the city's households who own their own home grew from 35 percent in
1992 to nearly 43 percent by 1997, an even faster increase than the very rapid rise in the
national homeownership rate since 1993.
The number of tourists visiting the nation's capital has grown consistently throughout
this decade — from 19 million in 1990 to 22.4 million in 1997.
Research and development spending per capita in Washington, DC increased by 77 percent
from 1990 to 1995 — substantially above the US average rise of 24 percent.
The number of patents registered by Washington, DC inventors grew 55 percent from 1990
to 1997, much more than the national average of 20 percent growth.
Washington, DC now ranks third highest among major US cities in its percentage of
college educated residents — over 36 percent of the city's adult population have
earned a college or university degree.
Recent public and private community investment of $300 million is creating 6,000
neighborhood jobs, 1,700 new and renovated homes and apartments, affordable homeownership
opportunities for 1500 families, 250,000 square feet of neighborhood retail and office
space, the revitalization of 16 community business districts, and nearly 50 new or
renovated neighborhood service centers — including health care and child care arts
and recreation, education and job training, paroles and playgrounds.
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
The number of violent crimes per 1,000 population dropped by 15 percent from 1993 to
1996, and violent deaths of juveniles tell by 26 percent during the same period.
High school graduation rates rose 16 percent in 1997.
Juvenile crime declined by 15 percent in 1997.
The teen birth rate dropped by 21 percent between 1993 and 1996.
Infant deaths per 1,000 live births declined by 29 percent from 1991 to 1996.
SAT scores by high school students rose 2 percent from 1993 to 1995, a higher rate of
increase than the national average
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
The city has achieved balanced budgets for two years in a row, with a surplus of $186
minion in 1997 and $231 million projected for 1998,
In March of 1998, the nation's most important credit rating agencies, Standard and
Poor's and Moody's Investor Service, upgraded the city's bond rating.
The election of Anthony Williams as the city's Mayor has brought a positive spirit of
reform and new hope for improvement in the city government's service delivery.
Back to top of page — Back to table of contents
Clearly there is much work to be done to improve the economic and living
conditions of Washington, DC — but most of the trends are moving in the right
direction. The metropolitan economy is thriving. The evidence suggests that metropolitan
Washington is one of the most economically dynamic regions in the world. Those of us
involved in implementing the Strategic Economic Development Plan for Washington, DC will
be riding a powerful wave of progress that can he successfully harnessed to achieve the
greatest possible benefits for everyone in the city.
This potential success can be best accomplished by focusing on three strategies.
- Growing the private sector
- Accelerating the growth of private Industry Networks that represent the city's major
competitive economic assets
- Supporting expansion of the six Industry Networks in the region overall, identifying and
aggressively promoting the businesses and jobs in each network that can most effectively
grow and thrive within the city — generating a much larger piece her Washington, DC
of a rapidly expanding regional economic pie.
The chapters that follow will outline how we plan to focus on these three strategies,
and demonstrate that important and effective work is already well underway
Forward to next section of report |
