In 1998, the District of Columbia government and other partner agencies developed and published a Citizens Plan for Prosperity in the 21st Century to spur the economic resurgence of Washington, DC. The revitalization of the North of Massachusetts (NoMa) area along the New York Avenue corridor was a major linchpin in the District's overall economic development agenda.

The Citizens Plan recognized that the critical component necessary for revitalizing the NoMa area was the construction of a new, in-fill Metro station at New York Avenue along Metro's existing Red Line and that transit would spur development in the underutilized NoMa corridor.

However, the District's poor financial health and the approximately $100 million cost of construction of a new station made it impossible for the District to assume all of the construction costs associated with a new station. To overcome this funding obstacle, intense discussions began about a unique opportunity to create a public-private partnership to leverage potential sources of revenue for a new station from a combination of government and private sector funding.

Out of these discussions - involving the District Government, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the federal government, the private development community and the NoMa community - came a vision for an out of the box funding solution that would require substantial contributions from the District, the federal government and the private sector.

The financing for the NY Avenue Metrorail Station created an extraordinary public-private partnership wherein private landowners would create a special taxing district of the land in and around the proposed station. Landowners agreed to be assessed a "Metro Benefit Assessment Fee" based on the value of their property that generated a $25 million private sector contribution towards the station development. Further, the District contributed $59.9 million in general fund monies and the federal government provided $25 million for the project. Finally, it was the generous donation of land for the station by the private landowners that made the NY Avenue Station a reality.

After development of the unique financing plan, preliminary engineering activities started in late 1999 and the $109.9 million station opened five years later on November 20, 2004. The station is WMATA's first, and perhaps the first in the US rail rapid transit industry, to be built between two operating stations while concurrently maintaining passenger service. The station includes many firsts such as the use of Design/Build project delivery that successfully reduced the project schedule to half the typical delivery time, the integration of Art-In-Transit into the station design, and the construction of a bike trail as part of the station to improve bicycle and pedestrian linkages. The station also incorporates several revisions to the standard designs of Metro's older stations including civil/architectural enhancements as well as systems improvements. WMATA also worked closely with stakeholders to better integrate the station into the neighborhood and the adjacent development sites.

The benefits of the public-private partnership approach to construction of the NY Avenue Station will accrue to the community in a dramatic fashion. Assuming a 10-year build out of the area, $94 million of tax revenue is expected to be collected in NoMa over 10 years and $975 million collected over 20 years. At its full potential, the NoMa economic development strategy will generate more than $1 billion of total public-private investment and over 5,000 permanent jobs in and around the NY Avenue Station.

The New York Avenue Station is a dramatic example of the potential of public-private partnerships and is a model for successful transit oriented economic development that strives to meet the needs and expectations of 21st century transit supporters, advocates and patrons.

The leadership provided by the DC government's Department of Housing and Community Development and the Department of Transportation, and WMATA's project management were essential to the project's success. With this strong local political leadership, passage of implementation legislation became much easier. The city had existing statutes for Tax Increment Financing, which were adapted to this specific situation on the basis of recommendations from the District and the Subcommittee. This provided the legislation for the implementation of the financing plan.

Unlike other potential projects to expand the Metro system, the station did not require the construction of a new rail line to reach the area, which negated the need to acquire large amounts of right-of-way, the time and expense of building a line, and the cost of expanding the fleet. However, adding a new station to an operating rail line did pose unique challenges including integration of old and new circuits and minimizing disruption of regular Metro service.

In the end, the capital cost was low compared to the number of riders that the station attracts. Fare revenues generated by riders to and from the station substantially exceed the station operating cost, increasing the overall efficiency of operating the entire Metro system.