NoMa BID media contact: Leslie Braunstein
703-234-7762
info@lhbcommunications.com

NoMa BID, Casey Trees, Others to Plant Trees In NoMa

Washington, D.C., March 18, 2009... The North of Massachusetts Avenue (NoMa) Business Improvement District (BID), in partnership with Casey Trees, the National Park Service, the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Gospel Rescue Ministry’s Ready to Work Program, The World Bank, and community volunteers today planted 13 street trees at two National Park Service land parcels in the NoMa neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The parcels are located at Massachusetts Ave. and New Jersey Ave., N.W., adjacent to the GPO.

Trees, tools, and technical support were provided by Casey Trees through their Community Tree Planting Program, a grassroots approach to helping groups and individuals restore the tree canopy of the Nation’s Capital. The planting also is part of the BID’s greening and beautification program, which also includes planting of 45 trees by the District of Columbia Government Urban Forestry Administration.

Over 50 volunteers including GPO staff helped plant the trees, while the BID’s support contractor, Gospel Rescue Ministries’ Ready To Work Program, provided logistical and back-up support. Volunteers enjoyed a pizza lunch donated by one of NoMa’s newest restaurants, Naples Sisters Pizza & Mussels.

The tree species were selected by the National Park Service’s Park Landscape Architect for the National Mall and Memorial Parks, Alice McLarty, who also designed the planting pattern. The trees are compatible with historic species typically associated with these parcels, and their configuration will complement and enhance existing park and street trees in the areas.

NoMa is a rapidly developing mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington, D.C. In 2007-2008, private developers invested over $1 billion in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID, and have plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space over the next ten years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Web site at http://www.nomabid.org.