A small business kiosk is providing added visibility to Black-owned startups from east of the Anacostia River across Washington, D.C., as it hits the road for the very first time this summer.
Known as The Bridge Spot, this distinctive two-tone green mobile kiosk aims to provide visibility and improve marketing and sales for businesses in Wards 7 and 8, with an eye toward helping entrepreneurs build generational wealth. For Angela Chester-Johnson, Founder of the tea, spice and sauce shop Plum Good, The Bridge Spot also offers an opportunity to promote health and well-being across the District and beyond. – Capital One

The $92 million project, scheduled for completion by early 2026, will be the first elevated park in the nation’s capital – literally a park that is also a bridge. Stretching the length of about three football fields across the Anacostia River, the 11th Street Bridge Park will connect the city’s Navy Yard with the Anacostia neighborhoods in Southeast D.C., particularly the historically disenfranchised neighborhoods of Anacostia, Fairlawn and Barry Farm east of the river. – The Kresge Foundation

The bridge park — an elevated park built on the piers of a bridge — grew out of a decade-old effort led by residents of that community to preserve their neighborhood. Other panelists were: Scott Kratz, senior vice president of the nonprofit company Building Bridges Across the River, and Vaughn Perry, director of the Skyland Workforce Center in the Anacostia community. – Arkansas Democrat Gazette

WC Smith will donate $1 million to the 11th Street Bridge Park. A project between Building Bridges Across the River and the DC Government, the Bridge Park will be Washington’s first elevated park. It will be built on the pilings and piers of the old 11th Street Bridge, crossing the Anacostia River and connecting the Anacostia and Capitol Hill neighborhoods. – WC Smith

In the coming months, residents of Washington, D.C., will witness the presence of a distinctive green kiosk called The Bridge Spot as it traverses the city, carrying the essence of several small Anacostia businesses to other neighborhoods. – Yahoo News

“This is an opportunity for each of these businesses to step up to the next level,” he said. “The goal is to build generational wealth for east of the river Black entrepreneurs.” – WTOP News

Heads up D.C., there’s a new way to shop local and Black-owned in the District: The organization behind the forthcoming 11th Street Bridge Park is launching a mobile kiosk featuring Black-owned businesses that will debut at the Anacostia River Festival this weekend. – DCist

Infrastructure reuse projects, which entail the “reconstruction of abandoned or underutilized industrial and transportation infrastructure to create new public open space,” have proliferated nationwide in recent years, including well-known projects like the Atlanta Beltline, DC’s 11th Street Bridge Park, and New York City’s High Line. Because of the new infrastructure funding in the Inflation Reduction Act, signed by President Biden last August, infrastructure reuse projects are likely to expand and multiply. – Urban Institute

In Washington, DC, the Anacostia River has long been a de facto border, splitting communities along economic and racial divides. But an ambitious new park project breaking ground later this year aims to overcome those boundaries by building a bridge that’s both physical and metaphorical. – Bay Journal

The 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington, D.C., which landscape architecture firm OLIN is co-designing with Dutch architecture firm OMA, is a “great example of how to get into a community ahead of time.” Building Bridges Across the River, the non-profit organization leading the development of the park, set up home buyer’s clubs, created robust property protections, and increased support for local businesses and artists, so more of the community will benefit from the new park, even before it’s built. – The Dirt