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Howard University /
Pleasant Plains

NW

OVERVIEW

PLEASANT PLAINS SUSTAINS a core and vibrant African- American community of Black-owned businesses, innovators,
and leaders. Howard University has vaulted to prominence as a remarkable institution with distinguished alumni, including Vice President Kamala Harris. Pleasant Plains and Howard University are intertwined by the community’s students, professors, administrators, and visitors. Increased interest in Pleasant Plains and the university establishes this neighborhood as one to watch.

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NEIGHBORHOOD FEATURES

Great Streets + Main Streets

Georgia Avenue is a designated Great Streets corridor. As funds become available, small businesses can apply for grants to cover capital improvements and certain soft costs. The corridor is also supported by the Lower Georgia Avenue Main Street program through community-based economic development initiatives.

Creative + Entrepreneurial

  • In April 2021, PITCHFORK highlighted 9:30 Club among “36 of America’s best independent music venues,” describing it as “best known for: the best staff in the biz.”
  • Hand-dipped ice cream and bakeshop Here’s The Scoop won the “Best in Show” category at Lower Georgia Avenue Main Street Holiday Lights in 2020.
  • Chef Paul Yellin is bringing his Caribbean street food and rum bar concept from Charleston, SC to open de Rhum Spot at 2827 Sherman Avenue NW.
  • Sankofa Video, Books & Café, established by two lauded filmmakers committed to sharing “films, videos & books by and about people of African descent,” has remained a neighborhood staple for more than two decades.

Howard University’s Growing Campus

  • Lot 3 will be redeveloped into 430 residential units, 40,000 SF of retail space, and anchored by the National Research Center for Health Disparities.
  • In 2019, Howard University selected the Bond Partnership (comprised of developers EDENS, Menkiti Group, and Fivesquares Development) to transform a 2.2-acre former industrial site. Adaptive reuse of the existing Bond Bread Factory (c. 1929) building and Washington Railway & Electric Company (c. 1930) garage will yield 450 residential units, 156 hotel
    rooms, restaurant and retail uses including a marketplace and university incubator, parking, and a public park. Construction is estimated to take place between 2023 and 2025.
  • Managed in partnership with Adventist Healthcare, Howard University’s
    new $450 million teaching hospital
    is estimated for delivery in 2026.