The High Cost of Locking Down D.C. for Election Week
All that plywood does not come cheap, according to the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District.
Plywood capital: Fear of election-related disruption has made downtown D.C. a sea of boarded-up storefronts, adding a new economic stress for business owners.
Photographer: Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
The District of Columbia prepared for the worst on Election Day. Fearing unrest, many downtown businesses shut their doors on Nov. 3, some with plans to stay closed through the end of the week. In a scene familiar from protests over the summer, property owners boarded up windows at shops, hotels and restaurants. A memo from leaders at downtown George Washington University told faculty and staff to prepare for Election Day “as you would for a hurricane or a snowstorm.”
In many other major U.S. cities, downtown retail districts also hunkered down behind plywood, a practice that has become increasingly routine in a difficult year. But it’s a costly exercise. Plywood prices are up and supply is low; add in the cost of labor — especially labor that is very suddenly in demand — and boarding up the windows of a modest storefront business could cost as much as $1,500, according to the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District. And the expenses only go up from there.