Anacostia Storefronts to Get a Makeover

• January 17th 2013

by Shilpi Paul

Downtown Anacostia may look a lot fresher in a few months.

On Wednesday night, ARCH Development met with the community and revealed that more than 20 storefronts throughout Historic Anacostia, mostly along Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and Good Hope Road, will be scrubbed up, restyled and brightened over the coming year.

DC’s Department of Housing and Community Development allotted funds for the Streetfront Improvement project last October. Since then, ARCH has been working to reach out to retailers and architects. So far, Streetsense and DC Historic Designs have signed on to help design the new facades. While the changes won’t involve too much heavy construction, the designs will have to go through the Historic Preservation Office.

“We don’t have to do a big construction project to make a big difference — a restored awning, new lighting and fresh paint can do a lot,” ARCH’s David Garber, who is directing the project, told UrbanTurf. “Many retailers already spend money on their interiors. This is a way for them to get a street presence.”

One big change: don’t expect any metal cages. “You will not see an ARCH street front project that has bars on the outside,” said ARCH Director Duane Gautier, stressing that the “cleaner” look will be more inviting.

In other news from the meeting, the date of this year’s LUMEN8ANACOSTIA has been set for June 22nd, though it may be a less involved affair than last year’s three-month long art party that was filled with temporary pop-up stalls. Gautier explained that the formerly vacant spaces that were used for the so-called Temporiums have been largely filled up, and that other vacant spaces in Anacostia are currently owned by the government and are unavailable.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/20_anacostia_storefronts_to_be_improved_lumen8anacostia_2013/6531.