Riggs Park business corridor spans multiple blocks in a multicultural neighborhood adjacent to Fort Circle Park/Fort Totten Park (a national park under the National Parks Service) and the Fort Totten Metro Station ( offering three rail lines, Red, Yellow and Green, and 17 bus lines.) The neighborhood contains older semi-detached single-family homes, new townhomes condos, and high-rise luxury apartments. 

Riggs Park has many community assets including the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) Bertie Backus Campus and Urban Food Hub the Lamond-Riggs Neighborhood Library which is planning to undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation, the LaSalle Recreation Center, and a District Department of Employment Services branch.

Small businesses such as the newer arts-inspired Culture Coffee Too bistro and Hellbender craft brewery operate alongside older (12-years old or more) small businesses like Riggs Cleaners, Riggs Liquor, and Troka Insurance. 

Business owners and community volunteers actively support the area as a cultural arts destination, transforming business facades and public spaces with street murals, and engaging the public in special events like the Annual Arts Crawl, and “Fridays at Fort Totten” free, public concerts. 

Economic Revitalization Opportunity

Riggs Park

• Goods and Services businesses are extremely viable, and Food and Beverage businesses are moderately viable.
• Retail in Riggs park has rapidly expanded over the past 10 years, with new development bringing in 220,000 sf of retail space. The area now features a mix of auto oriented retail that preexisted 2010 and newer retail spaces in mixed use projects.
• Riggs benefits from its location along two highly trafficked corridors with nearly 25% of all customers resulting from drive by traffic.
• The retail offerings are growing and are expected to continue to grow as several major developments come on line. 

The addition of cultural attractions such as Meow Wolf and Explore! Children’s Museum 

• also will create a further regional draw, boost daytime population and increase pedestrian traffic.
• As the spaces available for retail continues to grow and additional multifamily projects are in development, the primary task is to keep the market in balance by aggressively combating vacancy and ensuring that older more established businesses continue to thrive as newer retail and cultural offerings come online.