The importance of DowntownDC's economic vitality was the topic of conversation April 26 at the DowntownDC Business Improvement District's (BID) annual State of Downtown forum.
"A thriving downtown is necessary for the growth and prosperity of all eight wards of Washington, DC," said DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. "Investments in the downtown are critical to how our entire city does."
Mayor Bowser was one of several public officials, private sector leaders and non-profit principals who participated in the forum, where the BID released the 2018 State of Downtown Report, which analyzes DowntownDC's economic role in the District and the region.
The BID's President & CEO Neil Albert spoke during the panel about the ways in which the BID is working with city and federal partners to elevate their support for the DowntownDC community they serve, including the recent opening of the Downtown Day Services Center through a $1.7 million grant from the city, and the future renovation of the National Park Service's Franklin Park, which the BID will operate and manage following its reopening.
“We realize that a lot of what we do in the DowntownDC BID is supported by assessments, but we also want to augment the revenues that we get, so we started a foundation," Albert said. "It would take $750,000 dollars a year to maintain Franklin Park effectively, and we cannot ask the government to do that, we are going to actually do that ourselves.”
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