A little birdie was kind enough to pass along a URL for the "Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District", the BID in its initial organization phase that's slated to cover the entire Near Southeast footprint. (I'm not letting them rename my Hood just yet.) Right now there's only an Executive Summary posted, but it's certainly chock full of information about what's planned for the area, and how important a BID would be (they seem to be fixated on how dirty the neighborhood currently is). The city council must approve the creation of a BID, so this document is very much focused on persuading The Powers That Be that this BID is necessary; it's chock full of vision statements, goals, boundaries, number crunching, yadda yadda yadda. But considering that the initial directors of the BID are heavy hitters from WC Smith, Forest City Washington, Monument Realty, JBG, and Potomac Investment Properties, it's clear that there's plenty of muscle behind this proposal. But if you don't care about any of that, at least check out the cool previously unseen renderings of the Nats ballpark (on page 15) and the proposed Canal Park on the back cover (I'm adding the renderings to my project pages as well). You can see my previous entry about the formation of this BID (and more about what the heck a BID is) here. But definitely browse through the BID's Executive Summary, they clearly mean business [ahem].

From the Dec. 28 issue of Voice of the Hill (PDF only, see page 13): "[...] Southeast Waterfront property owners have embarked on the creation of a [Business Improvement District] to serve their rapidly developing area." What exactly is a BID? "BIDs are geographic areas in which the majority of property owners agree to a supplementary real property tax that goes toward special services, beyond what's provided by the city. Services typical include cleaning, security, hospitality, marketing, and business development. BIDs also address issues like transportation, access, parking, infrastructure, and homelessness in their realms." The BID would cover basically all of Near Southeast (from the Freeway to the river, and from South Capitol Street to the 11th Street Bridges); the Navy Yard, while not an official member, would collaborate on some initiatives. As for when this would take place? "Legislation for the proposed Southeast Waterfront BID should be submitted to the DC Council and the Office of the Mayor for review by late January. It is anticipated that the BID will become operational upon approval of the legislation in late April or early May." There are five other BIDs already in place in DC, including DowntownDC.org and the Golden Triangle BID.

Today's Washington Business Journal (which as of this week is now holding all of their print content behind a subscription wall for 30 days) reports that the William C. Smith company--which has on the boards a number of projects on Near Southeast--is working to organize a Business Improvement District (BID) that would stretch from Maritime Plaza (east of the 11th Street Bridges) to just over South Capitol Street into Buzzards Point. The plan is being run by Michael Stevens, the former head of the city's marketing center. Forest City Washington (developers of the Southeast Federal Center, Capper/Carrollsburg, and the WASA/SFC portions of the Ballpark District) are quoted as being enthusiastic. Fifty-one percent of property owners within the zone would need to agree to a property tax increase to fund the BID, then the council would need to approve it. As for what exactly a BID would do, the article says: "At first ... making sure the area is clean, safe and friendly. That means a litter patrol, graffiti removal, and public relations. As the neighborhood matures, the BID's role would likely expand to tracking economic development in the area." (Yeah, if only someone were doing that now!)