Photo by Kevin H.

At a small gathering in the lobby of the Atlas Performing Arts Center last evening, its founder Jane Lang and Mayor Vince Gray touted a $6.5 million interest-free loan that would allow the H Street NE arts mecca to pay off its debt.

Before Gray arrived, the American Youth Chorus – a gaggle of sweet-faced children with equally sweet voices – sang “One World (In Harmony).” They would sing it for a second time shortly after to welcome Gray to the building.

Lang, the philanthropist who also serves as the Atlas’ board chair, welcomed the mayor, saying she was “deeply honored and genuinely thrilled” by his presence. “As you look around today, seven years ago after these spaces opened, I want you to know and remember that the city’s commitment to the recovery and re-creation of the Near Northeast community was the single most essential element” of the Atlas’ success, Lang said, adding that it was an initial $750,000 loan from Department of Housing and Community Development that helped get the center started.

Now the Department of Housing and Community Development has awarded the Atlas a $6.5 million interest-free loan that will be repaid over 25 years through “community benefits valued at $260,000 annually.” The loan will be used to pay off debt incurred during a 2005 renovation.

“The elegance of this loan lies in the structure that maintains the community stake and its entitlement for an entire generation,” Lang said. The elegant loan took just six weeks to put together, she later added.

Jane Lang.

Gray, who said he came to the Atlas when it was a single-screen movie theater, explained how this happened so quickly. “I ran into Jane on the set of Captain America,” Gray said. “When Jane finished with me, it was ‘Whatever you want, Jane.'”

Lang gave more details about that encounter to DCist. She said the filming was taking place near a Dupont Circle building she owned at the time. “I didn’t know he was coming,” Lang said of Gray. “We were both standing there and I said to myself, ‘I can’t miss this opportunity,’ because we had not yet got a commitment. So I just pushed myself right up to him and said, ‘Mr. Mayor. I need to talk to you about the Atlas.'”

This is typical of Lang, according to Tom Petty, an attorney who worked on the deal for the Atlas pro bono. “A lot of organizations just don’t get the city support. Some times they don’t know it’s there,” Petty said, noting that it’s Lang’s job to get it for the Atlas. “I’ve never seen somebody who has the equal maskings of charm and tenacity. I’ve been on conference calls with her and she’ll just very sweetly beat you up.”

By the time this reporter had gone in search of Gray, he had left the building – missing the opportunity to be asked yet another question about the living wage bill.