About the Community Center

Our Mission

Southwest DC Community Center’s mission is to serve the residents of Southwest and the Navy Yard area of Washington, DC by providing a facility for arts, recreation, human services, education, and training, in order to facilitate opportunities for personal and collective growth.

About

The new Southwest (SW) DC Community Center will serve as a vibrant, central hub for the Southwest and Navy Yard neighborhoods, and will foster inclusive community participation and collaboration. Even though construction will not be complete for another few years, the SW DC Community Center has begun the conversation about how to achieve a shared vision of what everyone would like to see in the new Community Center. It’s going to require considerable effort from every corner of the neighborhood to build the kind of operation that can truly serve the interests of a community as broad and diverse as Southwest and Navy Yard.

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Center.

History

The Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6D negotiated a Community Benefits Agreement for the 6,000 square foot Community Center at the future site at 375 M St., SW. As part of the agreement, Brookfield Properties (formerly Forest City) will provide this space rent-free for 30 years and will provide funds for the build-out. While the space will be rent-free, the Community Center will need to fund its own operations and programming, either through fundraising, revenue-generating activities, or other means, as the Community Center is not a D.C. government operation.

In March 2019, ANC 6D and the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly convened a community meeting to give interested individuals a platform to express their vision for the Community Center. Over 40 community members attended, and approximately half of the attendees signed up to volunteer for the Community Center in the future. The plan to create a nonprofit community center that serves as a vibrant central hub for lifelong learning, arts, cultural enrichment, and community life integrates ideas shared at the individual and community meetings.

The nonprofit Board of Directors was officially formed in September 2019 and after a public call for volunteers, the Community Engagement and Communications Committee was formed in January 2020. The Fundraising Committee was formed in 2022. The Community Center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

News and Media

How Two Long-Delayed Southwest Parcels Have Taken Center Stage In D.C.'s Battle For Land Ownership

Meet the Team Behind the Southwest DC Community Center: Will Rich

Meet the Team Behind the Southwest DC Community Center: Mattie R. Sharpless

Meet the Team Behind the Southwest DC Community Center: Rachel Locke

Meet the Team Behind the Southwest DC Community Center: Michelle LaFrance

Meet the Team Behind the Southwest DC Community Center: Andrea Lindemann Giliam

Meet the Team Behind the Southwest DC Community Center: Gail Fast

Community Center Seeks Community Engagement Participants

Southwest Community Center Takes Its First Steps

Presentation on SW DC CC for ANC 6D November 2020 Business Meeting