(Washington, DC) Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on Tuesday announced Target will open its first store in the District at DC USA in Columbia Heights on March 5, 2008.

“Target – the retail anchor for the long-awaited DC USA project -- has been in the works for several years,” Mayor Fenty said. “So it is fitting to call this project both the catalyst and the capstone to an unprecedented economic resurgence in Columbia Heights – where nearly $1 billion worth of new housing, retail and office space has moved through the development pipeline since 2001.”

The two-story Target store is part of the $145 million DC USA retail complex , which has more than 500,000 square feet of retail space and will include other major national-brand tenants Best Buy, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Washington Sports Club. New York’s Grid Properties is the lead developer for the DC USA project and the team includes the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights.

The District and the former National Capital Revitalization Corp. provided $42 million in tax increment financing (TIF) to build a 1,000-space parking garage to serve the project. During the next seven years, a portion of the sales and property taxes generated at the site will be used to repay the cost for building the parking garage. The District will continue to own and operate the structure.

The District also provided a $1 million tax abatement on construction materials sales during construction. The total project is expected to generate more than 1,000 jobs.

The Fenty Administration has been focused on reversing the more than $1 billion that flows out of the District each year in lost retail sales to the suburbs because many residents still do not have access to quality shopping in their neighborhoods. The Office of Planning and the Washington DC Economic Partnership are leading a Retail Action Strategy to provide neighborhood-based retail strategies to attract new stores and better support those that are already in business.