Grant program helps lure new business to downtown DC NBC4 Washington [Video]

A grant program is helping bring downtown D.C. back to life by luring new business.

The first Vitality Grant was awarded in Jan. 2023. Since the program launched, $2.06 million has been given to six companies, resulting in 813 jobs and 143,475 square feet of leased office space.

Travis Rush, CEO of association management firm Kellen, said the proximity to the federal government makes locating in D.C. appealing, but so does the incentive program.

“Certainly, the association space values the proximity to decisionmakers and policymakers in the District, but also, again, as I said, the Vitality Grant was kind of the cherry on top that really made the decision easier for us,” Rush said.

Kellen is moving its headqaurters to D.C. while keeping in office in Atlanta and more than doubling its staff.

“We’re going from 40 staff all the way up to over 100 over the next two years,” …