Capitol Riverfront will break even on its $1B in investments by late 2018, says report

In the past 10 years, former parking lots and federal buildings have been transformed in the Capitol Riverfront. In a new report, the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District (BID) examines the impact of this neighborhood’s growth with the question as to whether or not there has been a sufficient return on investment.

By the end of this year, the Capitol Riverfront BID estimates that the District will break even on its $1 billion in investments to the neighborhood. This is true even as only 14 million of the planned 37 million square feet is built out with a projected completion by 2040.

At that point, the net fiscal impact is expected to be $8.3 billion since 2007, a return of nearly $7.40 per initial dollar. Furthermore, in 2018 alone, the Capitol Riverfront is projected to generate $287 million, more than three and a half times it generated before the BID was created in 2007.

The biggest investments the District has made so far in the neighborhood have been the Douglass Bridge, with a projected value of $900 million, and Nationals Park, with a projected value of $670.3 million.

For more information on the long-term value of the Capitol Riverfront, check out the full report below.