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The Downtown BID just released some stats from its “State of Downtown Report,” which will be available in its entirety tomorrow. Among the interesting findings:

From 1997 through 2008, $9.5 billion was invested in Downtown BID area development, reducing the number of surface parking lots and development sites from 115 in 1997 to just 19 today.

Pretty unbelievable. I’m sure at least a reader or two is thinking, well that’s great—but when are they going to build on the mother of all downtown lots, the lot visible from the moon, located just southwest of Mt. Vernon Square.

The answer to that question, I do not know. But this is still an astonishing number. Here are some other facts plucked from the report:

Key findings are as follows:

  • The Downtown BID area added an average of about 2,000 jobs in both 2007 and 2008, accounting for 23% of DC’s total job growth over two years.
  • From 1997 through 2008, $9.5 billion was invested in Downtown BID area development, reducing the number of surface parking lots and development sites from 115 in 1997 to just 19 today.
  • Class A office rental rates are second only to midtown Manhattan at $60.30 per square foot (SF). At 9.6%, class A office vacancy rates rank fifth nationally behind midtown Manhattan, downtown Manhattan, Philadelphia and Boston.

Other report highlights:

  • 250 new residents arrived in the Downtown BID area in 2008 for a total of 7,600. In the 10 blocks surrounding the BID area, the population increased by 2,124 residents, bringing the total to 46,676.
  • Visitor attendance in the Downtown BID area hit an all time high of 10.1 million, up by 667,000 visitors, or 7%.
  • BID area Metrorail ridership rose to 108,000 weekday, up 6,000 riders per day from 2007. The DC Circulator bus carried approximately 7,700 daily riders in 2008—an increase of 16% over 2007.
  • Downtown restaurants continued to grow in number and quality, with a net gain of nine in 2008, leading to a total of 124 destination restaurants.
  • The Downtown BID area contributes significantly to DC’s fiscal health—as combined with the Golden Triangle BID, its net fiscal impact is estimated at $633 million for fiscal year 2010, based on total revenues of $1.151 billion, or 21% of DC’s total.