Great Streets is the District’s commercial revitalization initiative, led by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED). The program supports existing small businesses, attracts new investment, expands the District’s tax base, and creates job opportunities for District residents while transforming commercial corridors into vibrant neighborhood centers. Since 2006, Great Streets has grown into a multi-year program supporting thousands of small businesses across 15 priority retail corridors. Today, Great Streets is a key part of the District’s business incentive ecosystem, offering Small Business Investment Grants of up to $90,000 to help qualified businesses strengthen operations, enhance customer experience, and invest in long-term growth.
Great Streets Corridors
Grants are offered to small businesses located in Retail Priority Areas. The following commercial areas are designated Great Street Corridors:
- 7th Street NW
- 14th & U Streets NW (including Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights)
- Barracks Row
- Connecticut Avenue NW
- Eastern Market
- Georgia Avenue NW
- H Street/Bladensburg Road NE
- Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue/South Capitol Street SE/SW
- Minnesota Avenue/Benning Road NE
- Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE
- New York Avenue NE
- North Capitol Street NW/NE
- Pennsylvania Avenue SE
- Rhode Island Avenue NE
- Wisconsin Avenue NW
Prospective applicants can verify their location eligibility via the interactive mapping tool.