Photo via Facebook.

A few District neighborhoods are getting some help in revitalization. The DC Main Streets program got three new members today that “are prime for success,” according to Mayor Muriel Bowser, who announced that Congress Heights, Tenleytown, and Van Ness will join seven other areas that are a part of the initiative. The goal is to ultimately get more consumers to those parts of town.

The member-organizations, which are independent and nonprofit, get services and funding from the Department of Small and Local Business Development. With those resources, the organizations can do things like facade improvements on commercial properties that need makeovers and recruitment of new businesses to open in their corridors. They also occasionally host events like restaurant passport programs and wine tastings.

The organizations are primarily run by volunteer board and committee members, but each group must have at least one full-time staff person. The other active members include Barracks Row Main Street, Ward 7 Business Partnership, Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets, H Street Main Street, North Capitol Main Street, Shaw Main Street, and Rhode Island Avenue Main Street.

In 2015, the participating regions collectively saw 30 new businesses open, more than 1,200 people hired, about 30 existing projects rehabbed, and more than a dozen new projects finished, among other improvements, according to the DSLBD.

“My Administration will continue to invest in our neighborhood businesses because they, in turn, invest in our people,” Bowser said.