WDCEP Showcases DC Retail Opportunities at ICSC RECon

June 16, 2016

At this year’s International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) global real estate conference (RECon), the Washington DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP), in partnership with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development, led efforts to show that Washington, DC’s retail market continues to strengthen.

WDCEP kicked off Washington DC’s presence at the conference for the sixteenth year in a row, hosting a WeDC welcome reception on Sunday, May 17 at the SLS Hotel.

At the conference itself, alongside DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and economic development officials, WDCEP facilitated 68 meetings in two and-a-half days with retailers, restaurants, entertainment anchors, brokers, and developers from across the United States. The 2,000 sq. ft. booth showcased recent development success stories throughout the city, and saw a record number of visitors interested about opportunities in DC’s neighborhoods—53% more attendees visited the booth from just last year.

According to WDCEP President and CEO Keith J. Sellars, since WDCEP’s inaugural trip to ICSC in 2001, DC has seen 28 new grocery stores open and retail/restaurant employment has increased more than 60%.
Successes due to WDCEP’s RECon presence are many—Costco, Nike, Nordstrom Rack, Apple, and countless other retailers have all recently expanded to the city. Additionally, Washington DC’s tax collections from retail and restaurant sales have nearly doubled since 1999.

“We are very proud of how our organization continues to help bring jobs and revenue to the city,” Sellars said.

WDCEP would like to thank the over 650 RECon attendees who helped celebrate DC at the conference, as well as the private sector sponsors who made our participation possible, including Douglas Development, The JBG Companies, Gelberg Signs, Urban Atlantic & A&R Development, Pepco, Exelon, Roadside Development, Trammell Crow, and Holland & Knight.