WASHINGTON, DC-NoMa Business Improvement District president Liz Price, a much-recognized figure on the DC commercial real estate circuit, is stepping down from her post this summer. She will be relocating to Frankfurt, Germany, with her children and husband, a German national, in September. In the meantime, the NoMa BID board of directors has begun a search for a chief executive officer to replace her. “This is a bittersweet decision for me,” Price tells GlobeSt.com. “I have been dedicated to my role here but this is also a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take my family abroad.” 

The new president will be called upon to perform a varied job that comes with a multitude of responsibilities, Price says. “We are still growing and developing and the BID president needs to keep an eye on the big picture while staying on top of the details as well.”

To be sure, Price--who has helped shepherd NoMa from emerging market status to an area of town where the office vacancy rate is among the lowest--will be sorely missed by her constituents. “It will be very tough to fill Liz’s shoes,” said NoMa BID board chair Bruce Baschuk, chairman of the J Street Cos., in a prepared statement. “Since she assumed her responsibilities in 2007, Liz has done an incredible job of building the organization and shaping the character and image of the neighborhood itself.”

Since 2007, the BID itself has also grown, with the addition of six full-time staffers and seven ambassadors, plus a Clean Team of 15 people contracted through Gospel Rescue Ministries. As for the submarket itself, it has gone far in reaching its goal of becoming a work-live-play enclave in the city. In the last three years, some three million square feet have been leased in NoMa, including CQ-Roll Call, Mathematica, GSA and the Department of Justice. Also seventeen retailers have opened their doors as well as a number of multifamily and condo projects.