There’s something in the air in Washington. An excitement, an energy, an enthusiasm for making things happen. It’s been there for a while now, behind the scenes, swelling and pushing growth and revitalization downtown. It’s bigger than any one person or business and beyond the scope of any one organization or entity, but it’s definitely there.

The results of that energy, which for a number of years had been anticipatory, are now starting to become tangible. So far this week, The Hackney, a new spot on the fine dining and bar scene, has started taking reservations from the public. The Harbor District Market has started public fundraising for an anticipated opening in May.

In the past year, newly revitalized spaces, both residential and commercial, have helped ignite a spark in Washington’s downtown economy, which in turn radiates out to businesses from Stewart Parkway to 15^th Street, and a streetscape project in the works for downtown Washington seeks to keep the trend moving.

Yet, when one drives by the same pothole, or wishes there was a sidewalk on their stretch of street, it is easy to wonder why there is so much emphasis on the city’s downtown area. How does it impact me and my neighborhood if the downtown prospers?

Even if you never set foot downtown and rarely visit the waterfront, you might be surprised to learn that stimulation of those areas impacts what happens in the services you receive from the city. A simplified equation could go like this: renovated buildings = higher tax values for those buildings = higher tax revenue for the city = more money that goes into services in all parts of the city.

A streetscape project in development for downtown Washington seeks to build on this formula, and a story exploring that project is forthcoming in the WDN.

There is no question that there are, and will continue to be, needs on every street and every block of Washington. Some of them might even need to be addressed tomorrow. Some of them can wait a few months. Others aren’t going to become a problem for years.

Some, such as the city’s drainage issues, could literally mean the difference between life and death, or homelessness and homeownership. What needs to happen when, and at what cost, is a question that takes long-term planning and a lot of foresight and is fraught with political controversy.

As far as public expenditures and using taxpayer money for downtown projects, it may be that the old business adage holds — sometimes you have to spend money to make money. By leveraging city funds, and having some “skin in the game,” a municipality can often find grant funding to help move a project forward. When private investment buys in through renovations and revitalizations, old, derelict buildings find new life.

As that continues to happen, the City of Washington might have a few more resources to address big issues that impact the whole community, and the ones that hit home for you and your neighbors.