SunTrust Banks, Inc. closed the financing for the third phase of the $34M expansion of the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC). THEARC is a cultural, education and social services center that opened in 2005 and is located at 1901 Mississippi Avenue SE. THEARC is run by Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR), a non-profit established by WC Smith.
The third phase will add approximately 92,000 square feet to the existing 110,000-square-foot development for non-profit tenants, according to a recent press release. The addition will house a black box theater, the Bishop Walker School for Boys and The Phillips Collection, an expanded clinic run by Children’s National Medical Center, and classrooms and administrative space for Appletree Institute for Education Innovation, Inc.
THEARC houses a total of nine non-profit partners that provide medical and dental care, education, art classes, and more to those in Wards 7 and 8. Washington Business Journal reported that THEARC serves roughly 85,000 individuals annually. Edmund Fleet, a spokesperson for BBAR, estimates 40,000 to 50,000 more people visiting THEARC each year once the expansion is complete.
City First Bank of DC, Low Income Investment Fund, and Enterprise Community Investment, Inc each provided $10 million towards the project, while SunTrust Community Development Enterprises, LLC contributed $2.25 million to the transaction.
The project broke ground in October 2015 and is expected to complete by 2017.
• WC Smith to embark on $34M expansion of THEARC. Have a look inside and out (Video) [Washington Business Journal]