DMPED: May 1, 2002 - Press Release pg1

(Washington, DC) Mayor Anthony A. Williams announced that the District of Columbia sold $73.6 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) bonds for the Gallery Place Project as part of $275 million in total project financing. The Gallery Place Project sits atop the Gallery Place Metro Station at 7th and G Streets, NW, and is the largest new shopping and entertainment center slated for downtown. Scheduled to open in the fall of 2003, Gallery Place will house major retail stores and restaurants, a 14-screen United Artists stadium-seating movie theater, offices and 192- units of housing.

"With the sale of TIF bonds for the Gallery Place Project, we continue to see the transformation of our downtown from a center of commerce to a neighborhood that happens to be located in the center of our city," said Mayor Williams. "I want to see downtown as a destination location for people to live, work, eat and play -- 24 hours a day."

Deputy Mayor Eric Price added, "The completion of the Gallery Place Project will advance the objectives of the Mayor's comprehensive plan for the downtown area. This plan calls for the creation of a 'living downtown' through the continued development of mixed-use properties in the downtown area."

The Gallery Place Project is being developed by Gallery Place Associates, a partnership of Herbert S. Miller of the Western Development Corporation and John E. Akridge, III of The John Akridge Companies. It is expected to draw an additional six million visitors a year to the Gallery Place-Chinatown area. During its construction, the Gallery Place Project is expected to create approximately 1,000 direct and indirect jobs. Upon its completion, it is estimated to create 800 permanent jobs and an annual payroll of approximately $45 million. Projections show that the project will generate $11 million in new sales and property tax revenues in its first year.

"The Gallery Place Project is going to be a catalyst to enhance the tax base of the District of Columbia," said Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi, who noted that this is another excellent example of how TIF can be used to inspire public and private partnerships that promote economic development. "It is estimated that the District will gain $130 million in new tax revenue over the first 20 years of the project, after accounting for debt service costs."