The Anacostia Arts Center is gearing up for a major transformation backed in part by a new $2 million donation from JPMorgan Chase & Co., according to WACIF (The Washington Area Community Investment Fund Inc.), its nonprofit owner.

The Chase donation unveiled last week marks the largest contribution so far to the $37 million project and the third from a major bank — Bank of America committed $1 million to the project last spring, and Truist Bank pledged about $117,000 to the renovation. Chase and Bank of America are both participating in a $4.7 billion commitment led by the Greater Washington Partnership to invest in minority-owned businesses, according to the Washington Business Journal.

WACIF has around $4 million left to raise for the arts center campaign.

The project is set to revitalize the 35,000-square-foot Anacostia site on Good Hope Road SE, which already serves as a hub for local arts, food, and health-related small businesses, and includes a lower-level coworking space, The Hive. WACIF is working with STUDIOS Architecture on renovation plans that include two additional floors of office space with a rooftop terrace and penthouse for events and gatherings. WACIF team members say the renderings are on display in the lobby of the arts center so visitors can provide feedback.

Construction could begin by spring of 2024, according to WACIF chief of staff Brendon Miller.

WACIF did not answer the question of whether the building’s current tenants — including Mahogany Books, The Fresh Food Factory Market, and the Vintage and Charmed boutique — would have to relocate or cease business operations during construction. In response to that question, Miller said: “We’ve already invested a lot financially and programatically in the businesses who are in that space and during the construction process we’re committed to doing the same.”

The nonprofit organization, a community development financial institution, has long planned this type of major development in Southeast D.C. WACIF has provided loans, lines of credit, trainings, and personalized advising for local small businesses for the past 35 years. It purchased the arts center for $4 million in 2021.

“When you pull back and look at the whole region, generally, what you see over the last 10 years is this eastward wave of development across our region,” says Miller. “And we know that that creates a moment of promise and peril. It’s a promise of new amenities and new opportunities. And what we want to do is invest in a way that helps the people who are in the community now prosper in place.”

The organization’s goal is to invest $100 million in local businesses by 2030 to reach thousands of entrepreneurs in underserved areas, outgoing WACIF CEO Harold Pettigrew said in a statement. “Redeveloping the Anacostia Arts Center as the region’s largest hub for inclusive entrepreneurship, while honoring its importance as a community and creative economy asset, is central to that vision,” he said.

WACIF announced last month that Pettigrew would be leaving the organization to lead the Opportunity Finance Network. Asked whether this departure would impact the Anacostia redevelopment plans, Miller said that Pettigrew prepared WACIF for another decade of success, beyond his time as its leader. The organization’s board will appoint an interim CEO soon, per Miller.

WACIF plans to announce additional partners and financial commitments for the Anacostia Arts Center project in the coming weeks, Miller said, but that didn’t stop him from making another pitch.

“For any philanthropist or potential partner who wants to be a part of this catalytic project, this is the time. You can help us cross that finish line now,” Miller says.