Vision Plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

This is a vision plan for the upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor in Northwest Washington, DC. It is a community-based plan that establishes long-term revitalization goals and proposes near-term actions to move the community toward its goals. The plan promotes mixed-use revitalization supported by public investment in facilities, programs and feasibility studies that will leverage and complement private investment.

The plan draws from the basic concepts of prior studies, the views of the Ward 4 Task Force Gateway Committee and information provided by District of Columbia and Montgomery County government officials and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission staff. Its recommendations are consistent with Mayor Anthony Williams' Neighborhood Action Plan and South Silver Spring revitalization activities. It identifies opportunities for new development, renovation and public improvements that will help to achieve economic stability along the Corridor; it promotes urban design and streetscape improvements that will increase the area's attractiveness; and it recommends near term actions to implement its objectives.

The revitalization of the upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor will be a cross-border experience and may serve as model for other areas of the city and nation. The Corridor shares a border with the Silver Spring CBD in Montgomery County, MD where over $300 million is being invested in the next three years. Interjurisdictional cooperation and the leadership of cross-boarder stakeholder groups like the Gateway Coalition and Gateway Georgia Avenue Revitalization Corporation (GGARC) will be very important components of the revitalization process. Montgomery County Executive Douglas J. Duncan and District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams have agreed to join forces to enhance the Gateway area, but it will take the guidance and hard work of community stakeholders on both sides of the border to achieve success.

Upper Georgia Avenue Today

The upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor is bounded by Fern Place, N.W. to the south and Eastern Avenue to the north and is in the city's Ward 4 district. It is surrounded by a large home-owning residential population and is bordered by the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Silver Spring CBD. The Walter Reed Army Medical Center is a major employer and the Silver Spring CBD serves as the neighborhood's downtown. Georgia Avenue serves as a main commuter route and the intersection of Eastern and Georgia Avenues is a "gateway" area for Montgomery County and the District of Columbia.

The upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor is a mixed-use district. It is composed of one- and two-story retail/service establishments, several mid-rise office structures, two five-story apartment buildings and several two- and three-story residential structures. Retail uses include a mix of small shops, fast food restaurants and carryouts, nail and beauty/barber shops and automobile service stations. Much of the existing retail space is in old, small, poorly designed, converted space without off-street parking. A high percentage of the commercial-retail space is obsolete, or of an inefficient size and character to accommodate modern retail uses.

There is a large and affluent retail market base in the area consisting of residents, commuters, employees and visitors. However, there are few quality retail buildings in the Corridor and too few businesses provide the goods and services required by community residents. The physical appearance of the streetscape is poor, there is a fear of crime and there is a severe shortage of parking.

Vision

Despite current conditions, there is a growing sense of optimism about the future of the upper Georgia Avenue corridor. The region's economy has improved and several major community-supported development projects have been announced for the Silver Spring CBD and other parts of Georgia Avenue. When asked how the corridor would look and function 5-10 years in the future, local community residents and stakeholders described a safe, successful, and attractive mixed-use district with new development, new residents and quality retail businesses.

This plan expands upon the community's vision by proposing the restructuring of the upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor toward the objective of creating two distinct commercial nodes connected by new residential development. It envisions a region-serving commercial node in the Gateway area near the intersection of Eastern and Georgia Avenues and a local-serving commercial node around the intersection of Geranium Street, with new townhouse and low-rise apartment uses in between.

Recommendations

The plan's recommendations provide general guidance for managing the revitalization process, suggest development options for further evaluation, and identify specific public actions to encourage private investment.

· The plan proposes a centralized management approach to coordinating the efforts of the individuals and organizations engaged in ongoing revitalization activities and recommends more effective interjurisdictional cooperation between Montgomery County, MD and the District of Columbia. Areas of cross-border concern include marketing and promotion, streetscape, transportation improvements, transit services, public safety, and shared community facilities.

· The plan presents new development options for commercial and residential uses. The land use and development recommendations support the public purchase of strategic sites and call for further study of new commercial, residential, parking and open space development alternatives. The goal is to eliminate obsolete space and replace it with modern facilities that are economically viable given the levels of market support in the community and larger commuter population.

· The plan supports existing government and private sector programs for local business revitalization. The objective of the local business revitalization recommendations is the upgrading of existing retail space and improvement of the market performance of existing merchants.

· Finally, the plan promotes upgrading the area's appearance and safety to attract investment and activity. Public improvements and services recommendations will create a more pleasing visual experience, improve pedestrian safety and access, and result in a unifying urban design concept for the Corridor.

Implementation

The implementation of this plan will require the coordinated efforts of a variety of participants and the involvement of both the public and private sector. The key implementing organizations are D.C. Government, Montgomery County Government, Gateway Georgia Avenue Revitalization Corporation, and the Georgia Avenue Partnership/Business Access Center. The suggested timeframe for implementing the plan's recommendations is 0-3 years.

Photo 1. Georgia Avenue entry to Washington, DC

INTRODUCTION

This plan is a guide for the growth and development of the upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor in Northwest Washington, DC. It describes a revitalization framework within which the development of retail and housing will be encouraged and accommodated, and strives to link the commercial revitalization ideas of the Ward 4 community with the interests of developers and retailers. The plan develops a vision for the area and identifies near-term public and private actions and responsibilities that will lead to achieving that vision.

The plan is a product of the Upper Georgia Avenue Commercial Revitalization Support Project, an initiative of the DC Agenda Support Corporation with funding from the Ford Foundation. The Upper Georgia Avenue Commercial Revitalization Support Project supports the on-going revitalization activities of Councilmember Charlene Drew-Jarvis' Ward 4 Task Force Gateway Committee which includes the Gateway Georgia Avenue Revitalization Corporation (GGARC), Peoples Involvement Corporation (PIC), The Georgia Avenue Partnership/Business Access Center and the Government of the District of Columbia. The Gateway Committee has interjurisdictional goals related to improving the quality and mix of retail goods and services in the upper Georgia Avenue Gateway and Takoma Park areas.

The plan's general approach and specific recommendations draw from the ideas and common themes expressed at special meetings of the Ward 4 Task Force Gateway Committee held in February 2000 and June 2000. The meetings provided community and professional input on the character, quality, pricing and type of retail and service

businesses and residential land uses that are desired and feasible for the upper Georgia Avenue corridor. A January 2000 report on Existing Conditions and Retail Potential (AGD 2000) and a recent survey on retail preferences were presented and discussed at the February meeting. The report provided basic information on the area's economic and physical characteristics, prior planning studies and market assessments, existing and proposed development projects, and relevant land regulations. The survey asked the meeting invitees to rate the desirability of 30 retail store types (Table 1).

The plan also draws from the findings and conclusions of three prior studies of the area: a 1982 study of Upper Georgia Avenue Commercial Revitalization Potentials prepared by Hammer, Siler, George Associates; a Takoma/Shepherd Park Economic Revitalization Plan completed in 1993 by a consultant team lead by The Phipps Group; and a 7^th Street/Georgia Avenue Market Study & Implementation Plan prepared by RER Economic Consultants for the Peoples Involvement Corporation in 1998. The previous studies found support for additional shoppers goods and convenience retail space in the Georgia Avenue area and identified site specific opportunities for new private investment. However, they also found significant physical, economic and social challenges that must be overcome.

The revitalization plan that follows is presented in four sections. Section I describes current conditions along the upper Georgia Avenue corridor; the area's assets and how they might contribute to revitalization; and problems, issues and constraints impacting on development or revitalization. Section II articulates a vision for the Corridor and describes future revitalization and development scenarios for its three subareas. Section III contains recommendations to achieve the vision. Section IV summarizes the near-term steps and projects that must be undertaken to begin implementing the recommendations of this plan and continue with the revitalization process.

Table 1. Retail Preference Survey Ratings, February 2000

Rating	Shoppers Goods	Convenience Goods	Personal Services
Very Desirable	Book and Music Stores	Casual Dining (TGI Fridays,Friendly's)	Health and Fitness Centers
	Card and Gift Stores	Fine Dining (Legal Seafood, B.Smith's)
	Hardware & Home Supply Stores	Specialty Food (Coffee,Bagels)
More Desirable	Apparel and Accessories Stores	Drug Stores (Rite-aid, CVS, Eckard)
	Camera and Photo-finishing Stores
	Electronics and Computer Stores
Desirable	Antique Stores	Supermarkets (Giant, Safeway)	Laundries and Dry Cleaners
	Pet Stores		Service & Repair Shops
	Sporting Goods Stores		Video Stores
	Toy and Hobby Stores
Less Desirable	Furniture & Home Furnishings Stores	Convenience Stores (7-11, Mini Mart, etc.)	Nail, Beauty and Barber Shops
	Jewelry Stores	Carryout (Domino's, Papa John's,Yum's)
	Variety Stores	Fast Food (Subway Wendy's, Popeye's)
Not Desirable	Auto Supply Stores	Bars, Night Clubs, Taverns
Not Desirable	Discount and Used Merchandise	Liquor Stores (Spirits,Beer,Wine)
Write-ins	Fabric Shop Kmart	Baskins Robbins Noodle Shop Bakery	Dry Cleaners Franchise Video Store Mailboxes, etc.

UPPER GEORGIA AVENUE TODAY

The upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor is the northernmost segment of the 4.3-mile 7^th Street/Georgia Avenue Corridor in Northwest Washington, DC. It is situated along Georgia Avenue between Fern Place, N.W. to the south and Eastern Avenue to the north (Figure 1). It is bordered by the Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the south, the Silver Spring Central Business District (CBD) to the north and the neighborhoods of Shepherd Park and Takoma Park to the west and east, respectively. Georgia Avenue is one of the region's busiest north-south thoroughfares and its intersection with Eastern Avenue is a major point of vehicular access between the District of Columbia and suburban Maryland.

Primary land uses in the upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor are residential, institutional and commercial. The residential uses are two five-story apartment buildings at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Juniper Street, and several two- and three-story residential structures located mid-block on the west side of Georgia Avenue, between Hemlock and Geranium streets. Institutional land uses are a limited number of storefront churches and government offices scattered along the avenue and intersecting streets, and the Juanita E. Thornton/Sheperd Park Library at 7420 Georgia Avenue. Commercial uses consist of one- and two-story retail/service establishments (some with second level residences) and several mid-rise office structures.

The businesses in the upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor range from small "mom & pop" operations to national brand gas stations and fast food outlets. The predominant store types are convenience goods (liquor stores, carryout and fast food

Figure 1. Upper Georgia Avenue Corridor Boundaries and Retail Businesses

establishments and convenience variety stores) and personal services (nail, beauty and barbershops). In December 1999, there were 53 retail establishments in the upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor (Table 2). These businesses occupied roughly 88,000 square feet of building space and had annual sales ranging from approximately $239 per square foot for liquor stores to $25 per square foot for nail and hair shops (AGD 2000).

Table. 2 Commercial-Retail Inventory, December 1999

	No. of Stores*	Estimated Size (sq.ft.)**	Percent of Total (%)

Personal Services
Nail & Hair	15	19,000	21.6
Laundromat & Cleaners	3	5,000	5.7
Other	3	5,000	5.7
Subtotal	21	29,000	33.0

Convenience Goods
Restaurants & Carry-outs	12	21,000	23.9
Liquor	5	7,000	7.9
Other	3	4,000	4.6
Subtotal	20	32,000	36.4

Shoppers Goods
Apparel & Accessories	4	7,000	7.9
Furniture & Furnishings	3	5,000	5.7
Other	4	7,000	7.9
Subtotal	11	19,000	21.5

Vacant	5	8,000	9.1