8/6/2019 Park Road Ribbon Cutting
1/1
Contact: Thomas Dawes, DCCH (202) 4834986Jose Sueiro, CPRB (202)
2030120
Ribbon Cutting for New Facade Construction on Park Road
On Saturday, May 14, 2011 Mayor Vincent Gray, City Council
Chairman Kwame Brown,
Councilmember Jim Graham (DWard One) and Councilmember Harry
Thomas, Jr. (DWard
Five) will celebrate the completion of the faade improvements
made to the 1400 block of
Park Road, NW. The ribbon will be cut at noon, on the steps of
Kelsey Temple Church of
God in Christ, at 1435 Park Road, NW.
It has taken close to five years, $1.3MM, the efforts of the
Development Corporation ofColumbia Heights (DCCH), the Coalition of
Park Road Businesses and one very determined
city councilmember to rehabilitate what was once a crimeridden
spot in Columbia Heights,
says Robert L. Moore, the President and CEO of DCCH.
This most ambitious faade improvement project was completed
thanks to a $528,000
investment in the construction from the DC Department of Housing
& Community
Development. 13 storefronts owned by 10 different families from
7 different countries and
one church all managed to survive the economic tough times of
the 1990s, the construction
of DCUSA from 20002005 and the recession that began in 2007.
Over 80% of the small
businesses in this block have survived and more than 100 jobs
were saved by this project.
The faade improvement project broke ground on July 21, 2010.
DCCH oversaw the project,
working with the Coalition of Park Road Businesses. Keystone
Plus Construction Company, a
DC based certified business enterprise, did the actual design
and rehabilitation work of
installing new pavement, lighting, faades, banners, bay windows
and stonework.
In addition to the leadership of DCCHs President &CEO, the
project also found a champion
in Councilmember Jim Graham, who ensured that the City Council
allocated the funding for
the project.
The 1400 block of Park Road exemplifies the diversity that is
the hallmark of Columbia
Heights. It is home to a Dominican deli, a Vietnamese pho, a
Chilean grill, a Peruvianchicken restaurant, a Salvadoran dress
shop, a Botanica, and much more. The project
ensures that these businesses can participate in the economic
upswing that Columbia
Heights has enjoyed, and pass that prosperity on to its
neighborhood by creating more jobs
and increasing the tax revenue.
