Norton at Groundbreaking for the New O Street Market Development in Shaw Today (09/01/2010)

Norton at Groundbreaking for the New O Street Market Development in Shaw Today

September 1, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Roadside Development will celebrate the groundbreaking of "CityMarket at O," a $260 million mixed-use development project that will include more than 87,000 square feet of retail, 611 residential units, and over 500 parking spaces, at 3:30 p.m. today at the intersection of 7th and O Streets NW, the site of the old O Street Market. The Congresswoman stepped in to assist Roadside Development earlier this year when new underwriting guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) threatened the project's financing. Federal HUD loans account for 53 percent of the total funding for the project.

Norton said, "This part of the Shaw neighborhood could not fully revive as long as its historic O Street Market anchor remained in despair. The heyday of the market was gone before I was born, and its death was due to the 1968 riots. Now, the new CityMarket at O will bring the whole package: community revitalization with a new Giant supermarket, permanent jobs to help relieve the recession, and affordable housing for residents, all within walking distance to many parts of the Shaw community."

CityMarket at O construction is projected to continue over the next two years. In addition to Norton, expected guests are Mayor Adrian Fenty, Council Chairman Vincent Gray, and Councilmen Jack Evans and Kwame Brown.