Mayor Muriel Bowser launched a neighborhood revitalization program in Petworth’s Lower Georgia Avenue last week, designating the area as a full member of the D.C. Main Streets program. 

Part of the national Main Street America network, D.C. Main Streets is a volunteer-lead program that provides services and funding for revitalization in D.C. communities. The program now works with 16 “main streets” — defined as traditional downtown areas or neighborhood business districts — to grow local businesses, improve properties and streets, and attract consumers. Three of the areas funded by this program — H Street, Barracks Row, and Shaw — have received the Great American Main Street Award, the national honor for communities in the network. Washington, D.C. is the only city in the United States that holds three of these distinguished honors.  

“At the new Lower Georgia Avenue Main Street, we will build on the success we have seen in other places like Barracks Row and H Street and we will continue to provide our small and local businesses with the support they need to thrive,” Mayor Bowser said in a statement.

Petworth and surrounding neighborhoods like Columbia Heights have undergone a number of developments in recent years, including an influx of bars and restaurants and some new apartment buildings.

According to Tene Dolphin, interim Director of the Department of Small and Local Business Development, the D.C. Main Streets program has generated over 3,000 new jobs throughout the city.