D.C.'s gentrification taking air out of old businesses

By: Courtney Edwards/Contributing Writer

Posted: 1/11/09

The bells of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church at South Capitol Street and M Street, SW still toll everyday at 3 p.m., but everything around it has experienced a change.

Only a year ago, South Capitol Street was a dust-filled road amid the National's stadium construction and the lowering of the Fredrick Douglass Bridge. Businesses in the area suffered due to the decreased traffic into the area, and some of them closed as a result. Business owners struggled to stay afloat in hopes of being able to prosper once all of the construction was complete.

The bridge lowering was completed in August of 2007, and the stadium was ready in time for opening day in March of the following year. Eight months have past since opening day, though, and even more businesses have been lost.

The once bustling South West Exxon gas station on the corner of South Capitol and L Street, SW was one of the businesses to close shortly after the closing of the Fredrick Douglass Bridge.

Most recently the BP Amoco gas station on the corner of South Capitol and N Streets SE, and the Domino's Pizza on the corner of South Capitol and M Street Southeast have become causalities amid the South Capitol Corridor revitalization.

Both locations will be incorporated into Monument Realty's Half Street complex, which is bordered by South Capitol Street on the west, First Street on the east, M Street on the north, and N Street on the south. Billboards advertising the complex are showcased around both locations.

"I don't mind all of the changes that are going on in the city, so long as the city takes care of the people being displaced," said Henery Brown, a 30-year carpenter and long-time District resident. "Just don't throw them away."

There have been a few businesses that have managed to survive.

Mariame Hair Braiding, Grand China Carry Out, Cap Liquor, and the 7-Eleven on the corner of South Capitol and M Streets, SW are all still in business and benefiting from the new stadium a little more than a block away.

According to employees, though, the 7-Eleven, at 1101 South Capitol Street, SW, will close its doors in a year after having been bought out by developers.

Andy Lee, owner of Market Deli at 1020 First Street, SE, lamented the difficulties that his business has been facing due to all of the development occurring in the area.

"We have just lost so many of our loyal customers due to the development," Lee said. "That loss has really put a squeeze on our business."

For 17 years, Market Deli has been in business and they have served many of the businesses and residents that were along First Street. With many of those businesses and residents gone, the shop struggles to stay afloat.

Many of the new luxury apartments and condos that are coming up around Lee's shop are either in the leasing phase, or just nearing completion, so it could be a while before his shop sees any stable flow of customers from those developments.

And, despite having the Department of Transportation and other Federal offices located just a couple of blocks away, there seems to have not been a substantial trickle down of Federal employees to the area where his shop is located, according to Lee.

"It's going to be very rough winter for us," sighed Lee. But, not all businesses in the area are struggling.

"I have no complaints," said Mostafa Mohammad, manager of Subway at 1100 New Jersey Avenue, SE . "Since the Department of Transportation has opened, business here is getting better."

Mohammad expects to see an increase in business in the future since three or four more luxury apartments and condos in the area are scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2010.

The loss of businesses that is being experienced in the Southwest region is not a much different scenario than what has played out in other predominately Black communities in America.

Nearly a half-century ago hundreds of Black-owned businesses thrived in San Francisco's Fillmore District. Then, by use of eminent domain, the government's redevelopment displaced almost 900 businesses and nearly 4,700 homes in San Francisco's Western Addition, where the Fillmore District is located. Many of the businesses did not return after the development.

During the 1950s, the District government embarked on an effort to redevelop Southwest Washington in what was then called "urban renewal." From 1954 to 1960, roughly, 20,000 residents were forced from their homes and hundreds of small businesses were lost.

"We see business closures all over the area and not just in the Southwest region," said Anita Hairston, chief of staff at the D.C. Office of Planning. "Some of it reflects trends in the market."

She said that there was no concerted effort on the part of the District government to transition the struggling businesses out of the area.