Tax hikes coming to some Southeast DC businesses — and they welcome what it means

D.C.’s 13th Business Improvement District has been signed off by the D.C. Council, and once the mayor’s office gives it the go-ahead later this month, tax hikes are coming to businesses and the owners of multifamily housing units in part of Southeast D.C.

And there’s excitement about what it all means.

The Soul of the City BID will span Congress Heights and some adjacent neighborhoods in Southeast. The new taxes get reinvested into those areas — leading to the improvement of local businesses.

When it gets final approval, it’ll be the culmination of 10 years of work from Monica Ray.

“It’s transformative, bringing the power and the leverage of a guaranteed income stream to this part of the city,” Ray said. “This BID has the unique task of bringing together historically disconnected corridors — Wheeler Road, Southern Avenue, Alabama and MLK — and they’ve been adjacent across communities, across neighborhoods.”

“This BID takes a unique take on bringing those together strategically for planning, for collaborative advocacy, and of course, to fight back on those things that are hurting our communities right now,” she added.

Typically, BIDs focus on using the tax revenues toward branding, marketing, safety and beautification work. But Ray said Soul of the City will also use it for workforce development opportunities.

“This means that we really have backing and funding for what we really want to do,” said Keyonna Jones, who owns and ...