Washington, D.C., February 18, 2009… The NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID) is requesting qualifications of an individual artist and/or design team as part of a new initiative, NoMa Artscapes: Transforming Public Spaces, which aims to contribute to the visual character and texture of NoMa by commissioning a distinctive and precedent-setting work that enhances the vibrancy of this rapidly developing urban neighborhood and its public spaces.Since the opening of the New York Avenue Metro Station in 2004, the NoMa neighborhood, located just north of the U.S. Capitol, has undergone tremendous growth and change. National and local development firms are bringing world-class architecture and cutting edge sustainability to their plans for more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, retail, and hotel space to be built over the next ten to 15 years.

The project site is located at the heart of NoMa at the newly constructed Capitol Plaza Building at 1200 First Street NE (intersection of 1st Street and M Street NE), Washington, D.C. The site is highly visible and accessible to pedestrians and motorists due to its close proximity to the New York Avenue Metro Station just one block away, Union Station, and Route 50/New York Avenue. The building, owned by an affiliate of the Polinger Company, was designed by renowned architect Shalom Baranes

Applicants’ qualifications will be reviewed by a Selection Committee comprising local arts, culture, design, business, and civic leaders. The Committee will consider a wide range of media including sculpture, mosaic, sidewalk insets, street furniture, stationary planters, landscaping, lighting, and painting treatments. Applicants can submit qualifications individually or as teams, and include artists, landscape architects, architects, lighting designers, ecologists, engineers, and other design professionals.

The NoMa BID is managing and funding this project with matching funds provided by the D.C.Commission on the Arts and Humanities’ (DCCAH) Public Art Building Communities Program. The total project budget is $100,000, which is inclusive of all fees associated with the design, fabrication, and installation of the artwork. DCCAH is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Applications are due on March 16, 2009 by 6:00 p.m. EST; detailed information can be obtained on the NoMa BID Website (nomabid.wpengine.com) or by contacting Dana Chieco, [email protected], phone (202) 997-3846.

“First Street is envisioned as a grand and green boulevard – NoMa’s future Main Street – and will be lined with shops and other places for residents, workers, and visitors to explore and enjoy,” noted Dana Chieco, Planning and Program Manager for the NoMa BID. “This project will positively contribute to the vibrancy of the public realm, and provide opportunities for artists to develop and showcase their talents.”

“The NoMa BID is committed to the installation of high-quality and accessible public artwork at strategic locations in the neighborhood, which will engage residents and visitors, foster neighborhood identity and connectivity, and support economic revitalization, arts education, and the creative economy,” added Elizabeth Price, President of the NoMa BID.

NoMa is an emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington, D.C. Private developers have invested over $1 billion in 2007-2008 alone, with plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID over the next 10 years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Web site at http://nomabid.wpengine.com.