Major Home Furnishing Retailer Selects DC for Flasgship Store
Contact: Raguel Broy Turner
Manager, PR & Communications
202.661.8670
April 12, 2006
Washington, D.C.—Mayor Anthony A. Williams announced today that home furnishing retailer West Elm will locate to the historic Woodward and Lothrop (Woodies)Building, located on G Street, NW. West Elm is a member of the Williams-Sonoma company and has 14 stores across the country.
West Elm has leased 37,000 square feet of space, making the District location the largest store in the chain; it will also serve as the east coast flagship store. The company offers high design home furnishings at affordable prices. They have also committed that 51 percent of the store’s employees be District residents.
Washington, DC Economic Partnership President and CEO Steve Moore commented, “The addition of West Elm to DC’s downtown shows the strength of the city’s economy and the faith that retailers have in us.”
The District Government has made available $4.9 million through the Downtown Retail Tax Increment Financing Program (TIF). The TIF program values retailers that offer distinct qualities to the downtown retail mix by offering partial subsidy for retailers to locate along F, G, 11th and 7th Streets, NW. The program is administered by the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Stanley Jackson.
The historic Woodies retail space has been a fixture of downtown Washington, DC since 1880. Douglas Jemal, president of Douglas Development Corporation and a member of the Washington, DC Economic Partnership’s board of directors, purchased the building in 1998. Since that time, Douglas Development has worked to retrofit the building to meet tenant needs. That dedication led to the opening of the highly successful H&M and the future West Elm.
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The WDCEP is a 501(c)3 non-profit, public/private partnership dedicated to promoting business opportunities throughout DC and contributing to business retention and attraction activities. For more information visit www.wdcep.com/about.