THEARC

THEARC, which stands for Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus, is a community center located in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Southeast Washington, DC. The center, operated by the non-profit group Building Bridges across the River, offers community healthcare and arts and entertainment services. It sits on a 16.5-acre site and currently houses an all-girls school, a community theater, and Children’s Medical Center. However, it was recognized that the facility could not keep up with the growing use by the community due do its small size. Building for Bridges determined the potential of how greater space and expanded services could continue to positively affect the community.

THEARC Phase III building is a new facility located on the west side of the campus. The center will offer diverse and comprehensive services that will continue to be accessible by the community. The new three-story facility will feature a black box theater, an Apple Tree Institute for Education Innovation children’s center and headquarters, the Bishop Walker School for Boys, the Children’s National Health System, and The Phillips Collection – an art gallery which will offer free art classes to children and families. These various programs, in addition to the ones already offered, will continue to engage in community and personal development.