Washington, D.C., November 2, 2009 – The NoMa Business Improvement District has received a $200,000 transportation enhancement (TE) Grant from the District Department of Transportation. The BID will leverage the funds to provide streetscape improvements, landscaping, materials, signage and placemaking improvements at the New York Avenue and Florida Avenue intersection.

The BID will use grant funds to enhance the “Virtual Circle,” a $5 million project by DDOT that will address vehicular and pedestrian safety at the Florida/New York Avenues intersection. Also underway is a $40 million federal stimulus-funded DDOT project to reconstruct the New York Avenue Bridge over the railroad tracks adjacent to the intersection. Construction will begin soon on both projects, and improvements from the grant will be made in conjunction with the DDOT work.

The BID is committed to improving and beautifying the New York/Florida Avenues intersection. The vision for the area encompasses the creation of an improved civic place that will be a gateway to NoMa and the center city.

In 2008, the BID received a $50,000 TLC Technical Assistance Grant from the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments. The funds were used to hire an urban design/landscape architecture firm, Rhodeside & Harwell, to make recommendations for the beautification of the neighborhood. The grant monies will be used to implement these recommendations.

NoMa is a mixed-use neighborhood north of Massachusetts Avenue and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Between 2007-2009, private developers have invested more than $1.5 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 15 years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, visit the BID Web site at http://nomabid.wpengine.com.