The Park Road streetscape and building facade upgrades, which I wrote about last year, are done and look great. Check out the before and after above — a world of difference. No security grates, no ugly white concrete, no plastic signs, nicer curbs, fresh coat of paint, etc. Everything looks more inviting and a lot of the stores look brand new even if they aren’t. I had no idea that one place on the left was a Chilean restaurant, for example, and would like to check it out. Plus a lot of the empty spaces have permits on the window.
The money for the rehab came from a $526,000 grant to the Coalition of Park Road Businesses from DC’s Department of Housing and Community Development. Here’s a bit more from the Development Corp. of Columbia Heights and from Metro Diversity.
Great to see small businesses banding together to do good stuff like this. Let’s hope this continues to attract small businesses. What do you think? Please don’t say lipstick on a pig.
UPDATE: A commenter said they think the two photos are different blocks — they’re not, they’re the exact same buildings.
