Nearby Commercial Interests May Be Asked to Fund D.C. Streetcar System

Washington D.C.'s planned 37-mile streetcar system will be a boon to nearby businesses, according to a recent report. As a result, the mayor is pushing a plan that would ask commercial property owners to help fund the system.

1 minute read

May 20, 2010, 9:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"A BID-commissioned study by the Brookings Institution, Robert Charles Lesser & Co. (RCLCO) and Reconnecting America, a transit advocacy group, suggests that streetcars would increase the value of the revenue-producing commercial properties along H Street and Benning Road Northeast by $1.1 billion over 20 years.

'Anytime you can make transportation much more convenient and establish fixed connections from place to place, you are automatically going to increase value,' said Shyam Kannan, an RCLCO vice president."

The city is proposing that the business owners taking in the benefits of the $1.5 billion system play a role in its funding. Various ideas are being floated, including a special tax district and increased zoning fees.

Monday, May 17, 2010 in The Washington Post

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

3 hours ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

4 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

5 hours ago - Los Angeles Public Press