Friday, February 12, 2021

Application Period Opens for New $5 Million DC LEAF Program

(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio, Department of Small and Local Development (DSLBD) Director Kristi C. Whitfield, Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture Director Shawn Townsend, and local Business Improvement District partners announced a second round of citywide personal protective equipment (PPE) care packages to businesses. District officials announced the new PPE care packages while celebrating the opening of the first East of the River streatery at Busboys and Poets Anacostia.

“Our businesses have been resilient throughout this pandemic. These PPE care packages are one more way we hope to support our local businesses and protect their employees as they continue to serve our residents,” said Mayor Bowser. “In addition, our strategic investments through DC LEAF will uplift local businesses in overlooked neighborhoods by increasing access to healthy food options, stimulating manufacturing, and promoting real estate development projects that will create more opportunities for residents. We encourage business owners to apply.”

Through this second round of PPE care packages, the Bowser Administration is investing an additional $1.7 million of essential supplies to local businesses to support them in these trying times.

DSLBD is working with the Anacostia Business Improvement District and the Downtown Business Improvement District to provide free PPE care packages to DC businesses consisting of limited quantities of masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectant and sanitizer wipes, hand towels, and surgical gowns.

There will be two PPE distribution sites – Anacostia at Maple View Flats (2228 Martin Luther King Ave, SE) and the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (enter on L St NW side of the building). In order to receive a PPE Care Package, businesses will need to complete the PPE Sign-Up Form. Upon completion of the PPE Sign-Up Form, the business owner will receive confirmation and instructions for pick-up (delivery is not available). A registration link to the PPE Sign-Up Form will be available on Saturday, February 13. Please bring your own box to carry supplies. The PPE Care Packages are being provided by the District Government and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. To learn more, visit coronavirus.dc.gov/phasetwo.

Distribution centers will open:

• Thursday, February 18, from 9 am – 4 pm

• Friday, February 19, 9 am – 7 pm

• Saturday, February 20, 9 am – 2 pm

“Our local businesses continue to persevere through these challenging times and our hope is that this personal protection equipment will remove a burden as we move closer to the other side of this pandemic,” said Deputy Mayor Falcicchio. “I can’t think of a better place to launch this round of PPE distribution than Busboys and Poets Anacostia, a homegrown community gathering place for District residents, made possible by critical investments from the Bowser Administration. I also congratulate them on the installation of their streatery, which will add to the economic prosperity of the neighborhood and Ward 8 residents.”

“In these trying times, the Mayor continues to implement impactful ways to support our District businesses,” said Director Whitfield. “By adding these much-needed PPE supplies to our District businesses, we are continuing to support our local business community as they pivot, survive and thrive.”

Mayor Bowser also announced the launch of the $5.185 million DC Local Equity, Access and Preservation Funds (DC LEAF) program, which aims to support strong neighborhoods, expand and diversify the local economy, and provide residents with pathways to the middle class. DC LEAF incorporates three separate solicitations: the Neighborhood Prosperity Fund, the Nourish DC Fund, and the Locally Made Manufacturing Grant Program.

• The Neighborhood Prosperity Fund supports mixed-used, real estate, or retail development projects in targeted census tracts where unemployment is at 10% or higher. The grants provide necessary gap funding for the commercial component of development projects that will help create job opportunities.

• The Nourish DC Fund was created to support a robust ecosystem of locally owned food businesses in District neighborhoods where decades of disinvestment have left such communities underserved by grocery and other food amenities. The Fund seeks to promote an equitable recovery by investing in local food businesses, particularly Black and Latinx-owned businesses that otherwise struggle to access capital, and to increase access to healthy food to promote health equity in the District.

• The Locally Made grant program supports small businesses that are located in a great street corridor and engage in light manufacturing with funding for capital or tenant improvements of commercial property with a designated industrial use. This grant incentivizes and bolsters the Great Streets initiative to grow the District’s local business economy, bolster manufacturing, and strengthen supply chains within the city.

DMPED will host virtual information and live web chat sessions in the coming weeks. Applications close on Monday, March 15, at 4 pm.. For more information, please visit dmped.dc.gov.