CityDance DREAM/The VIVA School Secures Space and Programming Partnership with Proposed Reeves Center Development

New school will empower young people from across DC to pursue their dreams through dance

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reeves CMC Venture is pleased to announce that it is working with nationally recognized local nonprofit CityDance to incorporate a new and innovative educational and performance space into its community-led vision of a reimagined Frank D. Reeves Center.

The VIVA School, formerly known as CityDance DREAM, is one of the proposed tenants for the project to redevelop the Frank D. Reeves Center for Municipal Affairs located at 14th and U Streets. The school is a small and selective pre-professional dance program that works to eliminate barriers of access to high-level training. With a goal to diversify and increase representation in the field of dance, the school prioritizes creating opportunities for students of color to develop as skilled and confident dance artists. All students attend on a full merit scholarship.

“We are thrilled about the opportunity to partner with Reeves CMC Venture to realize our dream of a permanent dance education and performance space for CityDance DREAM, newly renamed The VIVA School,” said Alexe Nowakowski, President and CEO of CityDance. “The school is currently in temporary, less-than-adequate facilities just three blocks away from the proposed redevelopment. Reeves CMC Venture’s vision will allow us to spread our wings and fortify our pre-professional dance programming for deserving young students.”

The project’s other prestigious and community-based proposed tenants include The Washington Jazz Arts Institute, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre/The Ailey School, and Christian Tabernacle Child Development Center. Importantly, the project will house the new national headquarters of the NAACP.

Reeves CMC Venture is a minority-controlled and led partnership between CSG Urban Partners, Capri Investment Group, and MRP Realty that has been formed to pursue the redevelopment of the Reeves Center. More information about its uniquely transformational project can be found at https://www.reevescmc.com.

The proposed dance facility will be located adjacent to the project’s proposed Frederick Douglass Plaza and across from the planned Marion Barry Jr. Amphitheater. It will contain a minimum of 15,000 square feet to include rehearsal studios, an academic center, changing rooms and wardrobe, administrative offices, and a 2,500 to 3,000-seat convertible “black box” theatre for performances to the public.

“The Reeves CMC Venture team is firmly committed to the arts and the reinvigoration of this important programming along the U Street Corridor in what has historically been known as Black Broadway,” said Simone Goring Devaney, Managing Principal of CSG Urban Partners, one of three partners of Reeves CMC Venture. “In addition to providing nearly 200 units of much needed and deeply affordable housing and creating numerous jobs, especially in the creative arts industries, we envision a center for the arts, critically highlighting youth and education and honoring the memory of Frank D. Reeves.”

The Reeves CMC Venture team includes numerous locally based development, architecture, landscape design, construction and other organizations that are qualified to do business in the District as Certified Business Enterprises (CBEs), Women-owned Business Enterprises (WBEs), and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs). This includes Michael Marshall Design, PGN Architects, Bradley Site Design, Smoot Construction of Washington D.C., and other qualified firms.

“We commend Mayor Bowser for her vision in creating the opportunity for the equitable redevelopment of the Frank D. Reeves Center, which, itself, has been a transformational anchor for the community over the past 35 years,” said Charles King, Partner at CSG Urban Partners. “If selected, we are committed to fully and capably executing our vision of a responsible and inclusive project that celebrates the arts, youth, and education. We believe our project will be a natural evolution of the history of this important site, and an even greater asset for the community.”

For more information about Reeves CMC Venture’s proposed project, go to https://www.reevescmc.com.

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About Reeves CMC Venture

Reeves CMC Venture consists of three prominent real estate development and investment organizations: CSG Urban Partners, a locally based, minority-owned firm established in 2003 by Charles King and Simone Goring Devaney that has been involved in numerous commercial projects in the 14th Street and U Street Corridors, across the District, as well as along the east coast; Capri Investment Group, a minority-owned Chicago and Los Angeles based real estate investment and development firm founded in 1992 by Quintin E. Primo III that has completed over $14 billion in commercial investments globally; and MRP Realty, a Washington D.C. based firm led by Robert J. Murphy and established in 2005 that has completed 34.3 million square feet of development projects, representing $6.6 billion in capital investment. In pursuing the Reeves Center redevelopment, the Reeves CMC Venture team will draw from the wealth of resources within the minority professional community, both locally and nationally.

About CityDance

CityDance is a Washington, DC nonprofit dance institution dedicated to developing the next generation of dance artists and innovators. With five locations across the national capital region, CityDance trains young dancers for professional careers, nurtures talent and achievement through dance, and works to advance the field of professional dance. Anchored in a belief that diversity advances excellence, CityDance works to dismantle barriers and create opportunities that promote equitable access to dance education and performance.

CONTACT: Simone Goring Devaney CSG Urban Partners, LLC sgoring@csgurban.com