Many are calling Washington, D.C. the new financial capital of the world because of the enormous amount of public funds flowing into the financial markets. While that title is still up for debate, there is no doubt that the District of Columbia's economy is being buoyed by the federal government's growth.

Washington is also benefiting from a string of successful revitalizations of residential and commercial districts throughout the city. Its new Major League Baseball team, the Nationals, debuted in a new stadium last year; the quality and quantity of retail, restaurant, and entertainment options downtown continues to grow. Since 2000, the city has added 55,000 new jobs and expanded office space by almost 15 million square feet.

PLACES magazine recently had the opportunity to interview the Mayor of Washington, D.C., Adrian Fenty, who is once again pitching the District at this year's ICSC RECon in Las Vegas. The Mayor, born and raised in Washington, knows the city inside and out. His parents still own and operate a very successful retail store, Fleet Feet, in Adams Morgan. Fenty received his law degree in Washington at Howard University and began his career in politics as a councilman in 2000 by defeating a four-term incumbent. After being re-elected in 2004 for a second Council term, Fenty made the decision to run for Mayor in the 2006 race. He won all 142 precincts in the city's democratic primary and was sworn in on January 2, 2007. Mayor Fenty lives with his wife Michelle, and their three children, in the District's historic Crestwood neighborhood.

Q:   What message about the District are you delivering to retailers this year?

AF:  We are open for business. Obviously, across the country and as well as the District of Columbia, we are enduring a very rough economic cycle. But here at home we are somewhat insulated from the stormy economic conditions. We have an incredible new administration in the White House. The federal government is still hiring. We are adding jobs. Investment is still occurring and we have a tremendous pent-up demand for new retail.

Q:   What areas of the District are you most interested in promoting to retailers?

AF:  There are two key categories we are targeting this year: Downtown, destination retail and neighborhood-serving retail. During the past decade our downtown has made an incredible transformation from a 9–5 office park to a vibrant 24/7 city center where thousands of people not only work, but live and play. High quality, convenient neighborhood-serving retail is not distributed evenly across the city. In too many cases, our residents still have to get in their cars and head to the suburbs to find the kind of shopping they would love to have closer to their homes. We lose more than a $1 billion in retail sales each year and we are working as hard as we can to reverse that trend.

Q:   What impact do you think the Obama family will have on the local economy and on the local retail scene?

AF:  More than anything, the Obama's have brought a sort of electricity to the District that we have not felt in some time. They take every opportunity to get out of the White House and explore their new city and we are happy to roll out the red carpet in any way we can.

Q:   What retailers are you most interested in attracting to the District?

AF:  Washington has come a long way during the past decade in becoming a culinary capital. We have some of the most inventive chefs in the nation. I think the emerging restaurant industry is really a reflection of the changing dynamics of the restaurants customer base. We have 25 million visitors come to Washington each year, they are seeking increasingly sophisticated activities and experiences. They want a unique and authentic Washington experience — they want to enjoy all that the city has to offer — beyond the monuments. That is exactly the kind of retail we would like more of — unique, authentic and interesting.

Q:   As an ICSC convention veteran, what are your impressions about the event?

AF:  ICSC is the event for the retail industry and we see this gathering as the opportunity to highlight — to the decision makers — all of the opportunities in our development pipeline.

Q:   Are there ways in which you would improve the retail development process?

AF:  As Mayor, it is my job to make doing business in the District of Columbia as easy as humanly possible. That means streamlining the entitlement process and make the regulatory process consistently fair and predictable.

Q:   How can developers and municipalities work together better?

AF:  We need to let developers do what they do best — and that's build things. As a city, we need to strive to make their jobs as easy as possible.

Q:   Do you support the "shop local" movement that calls on consumers to patronize local retail concepts and consume goods produced locally?

AF:  Local, small businesses are the backbone of every city. They are an excellent place for entrepreneurship to thrive and they are an essential ingredient in building distinct and authentic neighborhoods. But every world-class city has to have a mix of both small, local and independent businesses as well as large national-brand retailers and we are working hard to make sure both types of businesses are not only welcome here, but have great opportunities to grow and thrive. P