Lots of news to catch up on after the July 4th holiday! We are also moving our Capital Insights news roundup to Mondays going forward.
Great to hear former Mayor Williams add to the conversation around RFK.
Two decades ago, as mayor, I fought to bring Major League Baseball back to the nation’s capital. The effort to build Nationals Park and return a team to D.C. didn’t just spark debate — it faced outright opposition. The D.C. Council initially rejected the deal, and it took multiple rounds of hard-fought votes to pass it. But today, no one doubts the transformative power of that decision. The ballpark spurred billions in private investment, generated thousands of jobs, and created a thriving new neighborhood on the Anacostia Riverfront.
Now, we have another historic opportunity — this time, at the RFK site — to bring the Washington Commanders home and create a new, world-class NFL stadium for our city. And just like before, the stakes go far beyond sports. Early indicators point to what many of us already believe: A new stadium at RFK will be an economic boon for the District. It will generate good-paying jobs, attract private capital, and help revitalize a site that has sat underused for too long. More than just a stadium, this investment will catalyze an entire neighborhood — with thousands of new housing units, a full-service grocery store, retail, restaurants, entertainment, parks, and long-overdue public access to the Anacostia River. This is city-building in the broadest sense. (And Nationals Park isn’t the only example — Capital One Arena and Audi Field have also helped reshape neighborhoods and spur economic activity.)
The return of the Commanders to D.C. isn’t just about sports. It’s about restoring a civic landmark to its rightful place — and using it as a springboard for inclusive growth. It’s about showing current and future residents that Washington, D.C., can lead with both heart and strategy.
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has introduced a resolution to authorize votes on legislation, including the Washington Commanders stadium deal, during the council’s nine-week recess.
The recess runs from July 15 to Sept. 15. Mendelson has already scheduled two public hearings on the stadium deal, one for the public on July 29 and one for city government and team officials on July 30.
“I have had a number of meetings with the Commanders’ leadership, and we have agreed that we are working diligently to get to a point where the council can approve this as quickly as possible,” Mendelson said …
Today, to close out National Homeownership Month, Mayor Muriel Bowser cut the ribbon on the new Reservoir District Townhomes in Ward 5, delivering 146 for-sale townhomes, of which 22 are affordable. The townhomes project is part of a larger redevelopment that last year brought the Reservoir Park Recreation Center and Aquatic Center and a 6.2-acre park to the former McMillan Sand Filtration Site, a long-shuttered water treatment plant that the Bowser Administration unstuck and is now transforming into a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood.
BrightStar Care, a national home care and medical staffing company, just opened its first office in D.C. proper and plans a major hiring spree amid mounting demand for caregiver services.
The new office at 5247 Wisconsin Ave. NW in Friendship Heights joins five other locations in Greater Washington. They are run by Dan Price …
Price, a longtime entrepreneur and D.C. native, is now investing heavily in recruitment and retention to prepare for continuing growth in the market — more than $1 million a year, he said. The company, which is profitable, employs about 850 caregivers today and is looking to add another 250 to 350 over the next year. And it’s hiring about 10 new people a week, including in skilled nursing. The company could add up to 1,500 caregivers in this market in the next five years, he said.
A D.C. museum that will eventually span eight miles made its official debut …
51 Steps to Freedom, the self-described largest outdoor museum in the world, launched its pilot app during a ceremony at the AFL-CIO building. The augmented reality walking tour aims to tell the story of historical sites across the District that played a role in the nation’s quest for freedom and equality.
The pilot gives the public access to 16 of the 51 planned locations, mostly near the National Mall with a few stops in Anacostia and Northwest. Co-founder H.H. Leonards said the plan is to gradually release stops as they’re completed. By the nation’s 250th birthday next July, all 51 stops should be available.
The tour is hosted on the free app Hoverlay, an augmented reality platform based in Massachusetts. It is available in Apple and Android app stores by searching “Hoverlay.”
The 3.85 million-square-foot Reagan Building, part of the Federal Triangle complex, is the second-largest office building in the region, behind only to the Pentagon. It was completed in 1997 and dedicated in 1998, making it one of the more modern large federal office buildings.
The decision to stay in D.C. aligns with the wishes of Trump, who wanted the agency to remain in the District and near the Department of Justice, headquartered in Federal Triangle just two blocks from Reagan. Trump in March called off the FBI’s congressionally approved move to a new suburban headquarters in Greenbelt.
Set for Nov. 11–12 at Capital One Hall in Tysons, spaceNEXT is expected to draw thousands of industry leaders, investors and government officials from around the world to learn about the region’s space ecosystem. Over the past three years alone, the region has attracted dozens of space-related companies, and it now serves as home to aerospace giant Boeing Co., which moved its corporate headquarters from Chicago to Arlington in May 2022, as well as offices for Jeff Bezos’ rocket company Blue Origin LLC and the space-focused business units like Amazon.com Inc.’s Project Kuiper, a satellite internet provider.
Hoskins said spaceNEXT will try to replicate Connected DMV’s other event venture, Quantum World Congress, which now draws a few thousand people annually to Capital One Hall after initially launching in 2019 with about 500 attendees.
But unlike Quantum World Congress, Hoskins said the reach for spaceNEXT is already having organizers commit to hosting next year’s event at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown D.C., a much larger facility than theCapital One Hall, which is on the headquarters grounds of Capital One Financial Corp.