WASHINGTON District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty yesterday announced the shuffling of a trio of district officials who will lead three of the city's economic development agencies, one of which has the authority to issue tax-exempt bonds.
Greg O'Dell was named the chief executive officer and general manager of the Washington Convention Center Authority, which has sold a little more than $1 billion of bonds since 1997. O'Dell is the current CEO of the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission, a quasi-public agency responsible for the management and operation of some of the city's sports venues.
Meanwhile, Erik Moses, director of the district's Department of Small and Local Business Development, was selected by the sports commission board to replace O'Dell as its CEO.
And Nicole Becton,the current general counsel of the department, will replace Moses as the new interim director.
"These jobs are incredibly important to improving the economic health of our city," Fenty said in a release. "The convention center is at the heart of $5 billion hospitality industry. The sports commission is our link to Nationals Park, RFK Stadium, and the D.C. Armory. Our small and local business development agency ensures that residents and local companies can take advantage of this incredible wave of economic prosperity the district has enjoyed during the past decade."
O'Dell's appointment is significant for the municipal market because the convention center is planning to issue $134 million of tax increment financing bonds around this time next year for a 1,150-room hotel across the street from the convention center. The project has been held up by zoning issues, according to Sean Madigan, spokesman for the deputy mayor for planning and economic development.
While at the Sports and Entertainment Commission, O'Dell led the construction of the $611 million Washington Nationals ballpark, which was financed with of $535 million of tax-exempt and taxable bonds. He previously worked for the district's office of planning and economic development. O'Dell has a finance and government degree from Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C.
Prior to Moses' appointment as director of the small and local business department, he was the deputy director of the agency from March 2006 to January 2007. Moses obtained his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a law degree from the Duke University School of Law.
Becton previously was the agency's general counsel and director of policy and planning. She received her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the Duke University School of Law.
