The District’s business sector is moving forward from the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic and there are plans for economic expansion, particularly in the downtown area, city leaders in the public and private sector said on Sept. 27 at Howard University in Northwest.“There are benefits of having a long tenure,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser at the the 2024 State of the District & Region program sponsored by the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. Bowser has served as mayor since 2015.“You get to see things through,” Bowser, 52, said. “Before I was elected mayor, I represented Ward 4 on the [D.C.] Council. I have been in the executive and legislative branches in the government, and I have served with three presidents. I have led the District in good times and in some of its most challenging times. I am proud of the way city residents, government and businesses responded to COVID.”
Bowser was the focus of the Fireside Chat portion of the event with Pepco Region President Valencia McClure. In addition, there were other panels focusing on the city’s education policy and developments as well as its challenges and opportunities in health.
The District’s Business StatusThe DC Policy Center published a report in concert with the chamber called “2024 State of Business: Creating a Thriving Business Environment” that was released to the public on Sept. 27.
The report explains through 2023 and the first half of 2024, the District’s economy continued to navigate challenges stemming from the increase in remote work. While a slight uptick in commuting activity occurred, office occupancy remains below half of pre-pandemic levels, leading to higher vacancy rates and substantial discounts on office building valuations. Resident employment has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, but overall employment in the city has not yet fully recovered, according to the report. Nevertheless, in the challenging and uncertain environment, businesses in the District have shown tremendous resilience.
Further, the report reveals entrepreneurial activity in the District remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, although some signs of weakening are becoming increasingly evident. The city continues to see new business formations but also faces higher closure rates and slower growth in new business applications, the report said. With weakening finances and limited resources, the District must turn to policies that can unleash growth and innovation and sharpen the city’s competitive edge, the report suggests. To ensure long-term economic vitality, the District must focus on creating a thriving business environment, the report outlines. This entails implementing strategic measures that streamline regulations, ensure fiscal responsibility, invest in infrastructure, improve housing policies and promote public safety. By implementing these strategic measures, the District can create a thriving business environment that supports economic growth, attracts investment, and enhances the quality of life for all its residents, the report said.Talking D.C. BusinessBowser said when she was elected to the council in 2007, the buzz in political and business circles was the need to improve the public school system.“In 2005, our schools in Ward 4 were not very good,” the mayor said.
She spoke of her support for Mayor Adrian Fenty’s push to improve the school system and has continued that effort by investing in quality buildings, negotiating what she described as the best teacher compensation package in the country and making pre-kindergarten to third grade free for residents.“We now have an educational system where a D.C. student can go to Grade 20,” Bowser said, pointing at University of the District of Columbia President Maurice Edington, who was sitting in the audience. “For 20 years, we made an investment in education. That has changed the trajectory in the city.”**FILE** Kenyan McDuffie is an independent D.C. Council member who participated in the 2024 State of the District & Region program on Sept. 27. (Ja’Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)One of Bowser’s priorities in her third term is to redevelop downtown as a vibrant center of the city. Nina Albert, the deputy mayor for Planning and Economic Development, spoke about the city’s investment in revitalizing downtown “since the ’80s and ’90s” and said the key to that would be “filling space, changing space and bringing the people back.”Gerren G. Price, the president and CEO of the Downtown Business Improvement District, agreed with Albert, saying downtown “is the workhorse engine of the city.” D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large) said more capital needs to flow downtown and “into the District.”
“We need to keep people safe,” McDuffie, 49, said. “Businesses create jobs. We also need more affordable housing so that more people can be a part of this inclusive green economy.”He also emphasized that since 100,000 people have become city residents since 1998, “prosperity has flowed.”“When I grew up here in the 1980s, the District was the economic hole in a donut,” he said. “There was a need for economic growth then. We have that now with hospitality being huge [in the city]. We are also getting recognition for our restaurants. The best restaurants are independently owned, not the chains.”
Source: Washington Informer
