The Great Streets Initiative is a multi-year, multi-agency effort to transform under-invested corridors in DC into thriving neighborhood centers. It focuses on improving transportation, streetscapes, and retail. The initiative covers 8 corridors: 7th St & Georgia Ave NW, Benning Rd NE, MLK Jr Ave/South Capitol St, Pennsylvania Ave SE, Minnesota Ave NE & SE, Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave NE, North Capitol St, and Rhode Island Ave NE. The document provides details on the existing conditions and plans for each corridor.

1. THE GREAT STREETS
INITIATIVE
1
De puty Mayo r fo r Planning and Eco no m ic De ve lo pm e nt
MayorVincent C. Gray
DeputyMayorVictorL. Hoskins

2.  Is a multi-year and multiple agency effort to:
 transform under-invested corridors into thriving and
inviting neighborhood centers using public actions and
resources as needed
 Improve transportation options and physical
streetscape of corridors
 Improve and increase community-serving retail in
underserved areas
GREAT STREETS INITIATIVE
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3. GREAT STREETS CORRIDORS
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1. 7TH
St and Georgia
Ave NW
2. Benning Road NE
3. MLK Jr.
Avenue/South
Capitol Street
4. Pennsylvania Ave
5. Minnesota Avenue
SE
6. Nannie Helen
Burroughs Ave NE
7. North Capitol Street
8. Rhode Island Ave NE

4. 7TH
St and Georgia Ave
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 The Georgia Avenue and 7th Street, NW
corridor is 5.6 miles in length. It extends from
Mount Vernon Square to Eastern Avenue, NW.
The corridor is one of the District’s longest and
is bound by many neighborhoods and
institutions. The Washington, DC, Convention
Center anchors the southern end of this
corridor; Howard University, its lower middle;
and Walter Reed, its northern end.

5. Benning Road NE & SE
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 Benning Road, NE and SE is a 3.62 mile
corridor which connects Bladensburg Road
and H Street NE at the Starburst Intersection
to the Maryland State border at Southern
Avenue, SE. It is a major corridor that has
been historically significant and continues to
be a major backbone of transportation
infrastructure in the District. It supports both
commuters as well as residents in the
neighborhoods that straddle the Anacostia
River.

6. MLK Jr. Avenue/South Capitol Street
6
 This corridor is experiencing a commercial
renaissance from retail and office developments in
Historic Anacostia, to the new 22,000 square foot
Washington Highlands Neighborhood Library in
Bellevue. Between these two nodes of activity is
the redevelopment of the East and West sides of
the former St. Elizabeths Hospital. The site is the
future home of the US Department of Homeland
Security and the US Coast Guard on the West
side and is slated to become a global center of
commerce, innovation, technology, sustainability
and research on the East side.

7. Pennsylvania Ave, SE
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 This corridor is a major commuter corridor that
offers retail frontage and sees and influx of
more than 44,000 vehicles daily. Neighboring
communities such as Hillcrest and Summit
Park offer consumers with average household
incomes of $87,500 and $93,800, respectively.

8. Minnesota Avenue, NE and SE
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 This corridor is the home to the 227,000sq. ft.
DC Department of Employment Services, and
with two Metro Stations, it is the hub for a
variety of financial institutions, grocery stores,
and residential and retail developments.

9. Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE
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 This corridor in the north end of the District’s
Ward 7, is largely residential. Mixed use
commercial development is planned at the
corridors intersection with Division Avenue, NE
as a part of both the District’s Great Streets
Initiative and the New Communities program.
Anticipating the surrounding communities’
concern about this important center, the
District purchased the derelict Strand Theatre.
The theatre is now slated for redevelopment.

10. North Capitol Street
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 The corridor offers stable neighborhoods, lined
by blocks of historic row houses and has an
increased demand for neighborhood serving
restaurants and retail. It is also in close
proximity to major employers such as Sirus
XM Satellite Radio, the US Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, and the US
Department of Justice. There is also close
proximity to downtown, and accessibility to the
newest Metro Station in the City-
NoMa/Gallaudet University/New York Avenue.

11. Rhode Island Avenue, NE
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 This is an important corridor that is well-
positioned to gain in its importance and
prominence to the District. One of Pierre
L’Enfants’s original streets, Rhode Island
Avenue, NE now serves as a major commuter
corridor linking many District neighborhoods.
New construction such as Rhode Island Row
offers 70,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and the
corridor is also Metrorail and Metro Bus
accessible with the Rhode Island Avenue
Metro Station.

12. H Street, NE
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 It is a place where creative ideas for new
businesses are being greeted by significant
opportunity and a welcoming community.
Many businesses and new developments
have already found a place on this one and
one-half mile commercial district just north of
the US Capitol. This historic corridor, which
reaches from Union Station to 17th Street, NE,
is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Once
a somber symbol of the 1968 riots that
followed Dr. King’s assassination, it’s now a
burgeoning business community.

13. 13
 ATLAS VET CLINIC
 CAT WALK BOUTIQUE
 DC CONSCIOUS
 EURO STYLE
 H STREET MAIN STREET
 H STREET PHARMACY
 STAN’S INC.
 THE STUDIO GROUP
PREVIOUS AWARDEES

14. Howard Theater
14
Ho ward The atre – Be fo re Howard Theatre -
After

15. Howard Theater
15
Ho ward The atre – Afte r Ho ward The atre -
Afte r

16. THANK YOU
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greatstreets@dc.gov
Phone: (202) 727-6365