Once home to plantations, a steelworks, ordinance manufacturers, and later the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, the Congress Heights community has changed over time. Congress Heights is a town built on land bought by slaves who purchased their own freedom, has seen successive waves of European immigrants, and is also home to the oldest Jewish cemetery in DC.
In recent years, the Department of Homeland Security, and a professional sports and entertainment venue have come to the area. A $200 million mixed-use hotel, office, and residential property is planned adjacent to the Congress Heights Metro Station. However, as the flurry of redevelopment continues, the needs of low-income residents of the community are not always met. City First responded to this reality by contributing a $20 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to the THEARC over 2 phases. Located at 1901 Mississippi Avenue, Southeast, THEARC is a 200,000 square-foot arts, education and recreational facility open to the public.
Since opening in 2005, THEARC has served thousands of residents of Southeast DC, offering dance classes, music instruction, fine arts, academics, continuing education, mentoring, tutoring, recreation, medical and dental care, and other services at a substantially reduced cost, or no cost at all. Nonprofit tenants include: Children’s Hospital, Washington Ballet, Levine School of Music, Washington School for Girls and Bishop Walker School for Boys, Corcoran School of Art, to name a few.