The DC Center Breaks Ground on New Home
The new center will house space for LGBTQ organizations, support services, a food pantry and its own computer lab.
The DC Center for the LGBTQ Community and the Capital Pride Alliance held a ceremonial groundbreaking at the new space site for the Center’s soon-to-be new headquarters on Wednesday, June 28.
The new building, located in the city’s Shaw neighborhood, will house key services for those in need, such as a food pantry, STD and HIV testing, and mental health counseling services, in addition to providing office space for nine local LGBTQ community organizations.
The 6,671 square foot space is located in The Adora, at 828 Wiltberger St. NW, and will feature a therapy room, a boutique with a clothing closet, an ADA-accessible shower, a mailroom to help those without an address receive mail, and a large kitchen, in addition to traditional office space.
The new community center will also have WiFi, a computer and resource lab, and a space for large-scale events and meetings.
“It’s going to be a space of respite and a space where you can feel whole,” Kimberley Bush, the DC Center’s executive director told Metro Weekly at the groundbreaking. “It will be a space where you can feel loved and comforted with kindness shown to you. Support will be shown to you: no judgment, no tea, no shade. You are going to come through, and whatever it is you need, we will do.”
The current DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, located in the Reeves Center on 14th and U Streets, is in a transition period. The Reeves Center is planned to be redeveloped to hold the headquarters of the NAACP, municipal office space, a hotel, and housing. It’s one of the reasons the DC Center sought a new home.
As of yet, there is no set opening date for the new DC Center, but an announcement is expected later this year.
The new building will also serve as a permanent home for The Capital Pride Alliance, which stages the annual Capital Pride Festival, Concert and Parade, and which will oversee D.C.’s World Pride event in 2025.
Meanwhile, organizations, including Rainbow Families, an organization that works with LGBTQ family support groups, the LGBTQ youth group SMYAL, and The Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides pre-independent transitional living and support services to homeless or at-risk LGBTQ youth, will have satellite office space in the building.
Other organizations with a presence inside the center will be the Equality Chamber of Commerce DC, a non-profit focused on uplifting LGBTQ businesses; GIII Associates, which works towards advancing policies supporting LGBTQ seniors; Mary’s House, which provides LGBTQ-friendly housing to adults over 60; and Team DC, the umbrella organization representing D.C.-area LGBTQ sports teams.
“We’ll be like a one-stop shop,” Bush said of the various services accessible at the center.
Andrew Zapfel, the president of The DC Center’s Board of Directors, said that the center’s food pantry will be stocked and sponsored by grocery chain Wegmans.
“I’m super excited about the food pantry,” said Raven McCollough, a health and wellness intern at the DC Center. “They’re going to give us a lot of help to stock the food pantry, and they’re going to continue to support us for a couple of years.”
Rehana Mohammed, the vice chair of the DC Center, said that one of the major goals of the new space is to have resources, such as therapists and counselors, ready to assist people as soon as the doors open. “We anticipate having case managers from multiple organizations here ready to serve the community during all opening hours, and all operating hours,” Mohammed said.
“This is a project a long time coming,” Mohammed continued. “I’m super excited about the accessibility of the space. It’s really something we’ve built in from the very beginning. It’s all going to be on one level so that everyone will experience the space the same. And coupled with us being near the Metro, near the Howard Theater — the location and the accessibility of the space is something I’m really, really excited about.”
“I’ve been running around like a happy Muppet,” said Bush. “I’m fortunate to be of service to our community, fortunate to be the one that’s with my small team leading the charge in the community to create the space…. This is going to be monumental. Just the opportunity to be able to give more and do more and be more for our community is what makes my heart sing.”
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