Neighborhood revitalization: Columbia Heights.

August 23, 2010 3:17 PM By Citi

The District of Columbia's long-scarred Columbia Heights is now a lively streetscape described as "a great, green place" by urban planners. The revitalization, which Citi helped finance, got its start more than ten years ago with the planned introduction of a new Metro station. It grew to include 1.2 million square feet of new development, including stores, 600 affordable housing units and completely refurbished cultural and public spaces. 

Citi Community Capital arranged $149.5 million in financing for the core of the area's development, DC USA, a large shopping center whose construction created approximately 700 jobs. The shopping center's tenants, including national retailers and unique local businesses, are expected to generate an additional 1,200 permanent jobs. In a video feature produced by The National Building Museum, Washington, D.C.'s Office on Planning's Harriet Tregoning described the development as "one of the greenest shopping centers in the country" in part because it has brought "Big Box," suburban stores normally accessed by car to a dense, urban area well-served by mass transit.

In April, Columbia Heights was named as one of ten outstanding developments in the Americas in the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) 2010 Awards for Excellence. Evaluated among 170 other projects, it earned this distinction on its design, use of land, construction, economic viability and relevance to the community's current and future needs.

Our support of the awarding-winning DC USA complex is just the beginning," said Brett Macleod, Vice President, Citi Community Capital, about the ULI honor. "We will continue to work with community leaders, elected officials and organizations throughout the District of Columbia to identify how we can, together, best help foster the further rebuilding of Washington, D.C.'s underserved neighborhoods."

The DC USA development, led by the non-profit Development Corporation of Columbia Heights, replaces an empty lot and dilapidated building in an area destroyed by the riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. "The Development Corporation of Columbia Heights is a leader in economic revitalization which is evidenced by this project," said Sheldon Caplis, Regional Director for Citi Community Development. "Citi will continue to work with this organization to bring innovation to underserved areas."