But, perhaps the biggest difference this time is the apparent strength of the commitment from the highest levels of D.C. government. We're honestly turning the corner now. Indeed, Williams and Jarvis anticipate the announcement soon of plans by a major retail company to open what Jarvis described only as a big box-type store on Georgia Avenue. At the same time, the D.C. Chamber and the Federal Reserve plan to open a small business assistance office on the avenue, the northern reaches of which extend through Jarvis's ward to Silver Spring. The other thing that helped change the prospect for improvement on Georgia Avenue, according to Jarvis, was the extension of Metro's Green Line to include the Georgia Avenue-Petworth station.
Housing supports retail.
We have talked with developers about coming in. I think, with the image change on Georgia Avenue, we will get more interest from investors. No other street in the city, Dennis added, provides as much access to Metrorail as does the Seventh Street-Georgia Avenue combination. History shows, moreover, that Seventh Street was, for many years, the major commercial street in the District. But, now that the partnership that Jarvis described is beginning to turn the corner on Georgia Avenue, it's time for the Williams administration to play a greater role in the revitalization effort.