example. drugs and crime were rampant here on this block. he taught his son on the streets then on the streets they took his son. his neighborhood just got a fac.

i headed up georgia avenue, past howard university to fish in the hood. after 18 years, the restaurant is still around. bill is the owner. >> you just weigh what you want. >> the neighborhood is seeing transformation. but it's still heavy native washingtonian. i expected to find black folk, but the clientele has changed. >> you don't want a neighborhood with just one kind of person. that is boring. >> around the time brown versus board of education, terry and kathy ruby and bonnie watson moved out of the city to a mostly white section of prince george's county. they were just kids then. >> we were teenagers who went to the civil rights demonstration. >> it was fun for us. >> we is have a picture in "time" magazine of us. >> yep, they're white. they live in tacoma park,

washington. they don't like -- especially in their own neighborhood. >> i like a lot of diverse communities. >> it's a societal way for a community to go. >> it's negative. >> today they're retired, drive a foreign sedan and love the new restaurants in d.c. >> you want different ethnicities, sure. you want to have different economic levels, too. that's important. but another thing is that people -- some of the biggest differences between people are in the way they think. >> back in cha, the yard is almost done despite his new mower stolen outside the church here, it's a lot safer than it used to be, a place people want to come. how to address the change that's happening still not cut. >> got to stay school, get education. that's what it's all about. >> that's what it's all about. >> that's what it's all about. >> reporting in northwest d.c., zachary kiesch, news4. >> announcer: next on "boom

times," it's not just the nation's capital that's transforming itself. coming up, the local county called one of the fastest growing in the nation. and later, the nationals wizards, caps and redskins, making their mark on the community. but who are the big winners off of the field? when "boom times" continues.

while the nation's capital has been transforming itself, northern virginia has become the

economic engine of the entire commonwealth. northern virginia bureau chief julie carey takes us to loudoun county. >> if there is a place that best exemplifies the boom times in virginia, this is it, loudoun county. it's one of the fastest growing and wealthiest regions in the nation. just look at the numbers. if you lived here in 1990, you were one of some 86,000 residents who called loudoun home. but the 2014 estimate? mo quadruples the number and by 2020 it's projected loudoun will push close to 500,000 people. which explains this, homes and towns springing up from the once rural grouped. case in point,this land. four years ago it was a forest, wedged between route 7 and route 28 in ashburn. but the bulldozers gave way to the start of another planned community. oneloudoun. today several restaurants and shops are already open here, some families all moved into the

hope. and metro silver line is sparking even more construction. >> the construction already has begun out to dulles airport and then past dulles airport all the way out, way out into loudoun county. and there are already two mixed use communities happening at the end of the line. >> reporter: with an average age of 35, loudoun has become a suburban haven for young families. but the school system is feeling the pinch. each year they're adding about 3,000 new students, which means a growing need for space. 43 new schools have been built here since 2000. virginia's boom, though, goes well beyond loudoun. we head southeast into the commonwealth's third largest jurisdiction, prince william county. here eight new schools built in just the past five years. they're adding about 2,000 students a year, and this county likewise has a hard hat zone. planned communities like potomac shores are making big economic promises, 4,000 new homes, a

450-slip marina and a five-star resort all slated for the east end of the county. the u.s. census bureau shows a rapidly expanding hiss pack population, more than 20% of the county's population, up conti10m a decade ago. many are catering to that growing diversity. look no farther than the names of some of the stores here. both in prince william and loudoun counties, some worry the new developments will add to an already-traffic filled reason. the tyson's area that one place people have been dealing with the pain of gridlock for years now, but there is a boom under way here, too, that could be about to change that. david joins me with a look at that. >> that's right, julie. that transformation well under way, the cranes are reaching high into the skyline here at tyson's. they have four metro stops along the new silver line here at tyson's alone. developers say think manhattan in northern virginia. to see the future of tyson's,

once just a corner store, all you have to do is look up. the skyline under construction right now is ultimately expected to look like this. fairfax county planners hope it will become a 24-hour urban center over the next 35 years, they expect the number of residents here to jump from some 20,000 today to 100,000. and the population of those working here? it's forecasted to more than double to 200,000 by 2050. this urbanization is making way for a new type of policing. we recently rode along with the man who created the new tyson's team, nine new officers added in past year. >> we definitely put in our job announcement for officers to tell them that they're going to be on their feet or on a bicycle the vast majority of the day. >> but it doesn't take new metro stations for a neighborhood to experience a boom time. arlington also seeing tremendous growth, construction on central place a 31-story residential

tower already under way. this stretch has become a young professional haven. >> we have taken a community, that was sort of a sleepy suburb and added 40,000 housing units. >> then there's alexandria, prized for its old-town feel. plenty of shopping and eating but, yes, a changing face here, too. despite decades of are resistance by property owners, the city now moves forward with plans of a new more walkable waterfront and turned the rail yard na a growing town center with more homes. in northern virginia, david culver, news4. coming up, revitalization, the major changes along one of our area's busiest roads.

in suburban maryland, rockville pike has led to the way of urbanization of montgomery county. news4's chris gordon says rockville pike is undergoing another transformation. >> reporter: what's it like when your neighborhood is suddenly in the middle of a development boom? it's happening all around montgomery county, leaders have to take all kinds of issues into consideration when planning growth. look no further than rockville pike and its longtime landmark

white flint. it's part of the past and the future called the white flint sector plan. just up rockville pike, construction is under way on pike & rose which combines retail, residential, entertainment and office space in a walkable environment that is metro accessible. >> repikalization is what we call it, changing people's experience. >> reporter: robin mcbride zeigler of federal realty guided me through the construction site. >> this is a per se apartment building. it opens to the public about two weeks ago. and we have 174 units there. >> reporter: there is also an 18-story building towering over rockville pike, from the top floor you can see the national cathedral in the district. there will also be parks, tree-lined streets, restaurants featuring outdoor dining, a music club that's partnering with straf more and a dine-in movie theater.

>> pike & rose was developed to be the arts and entertainment focal point. >> you may be wondering why it's called pike & rose tcht's where rockville pike meets montrose. inside the development, one of the may nor thorough fares will be named rose avenue. we are between bethesda and rockville, but they want to rename this area and call it the pike district. >> i think it's really great. >> i'm excited. i actually just opened a business across the street because of this construction. >> i'm guessing it will be nice. at least there will be more food options and more entertainment options. >> reporter: some people worry that development will lead to more traffic. >> it's a great idea but it's very congested to have that sort of thing here. very congested. >> reporter: montgomery county executive acknowledges that improving transportation is critical will to growth, but he says these projects will benefit residents and businesses throughout the county. >> we're looking at the potential for 100,000 jobs coming into montgomery county

based on projects already approved. >> reporter: rockville town square shows how a walkable mixed use development can become a destination. pike & rose hopes to take the concept to a new level. and in the process reenergize rockville pike. chris gordon, news4. >> announcer: still to come, the it keys to success. what has to happen to keep these boom times going for years to come.

here in the city, the washington with nationals are changing a once neglected part of the city. whether it's baseball, football, hockey or basketball, pro sports are major players in the new washington. ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars ♪ home opening day at nationals park last spring, the u.s. navy sea chanters singing the national anthem. ♪ ramparts we watched

now in their seventh season at nationals park, the team is again in the hunt for postseason playoffs and a shot at the world series. but baseball already is a winner. it's helping redevelop the southeast-southwest waterfront where the city now is considering adding a new soccer stadium deal for d.c. united. >> hoping to give a little more sizzle to kind of burgeoning areas of the city, we think the soccer stadium probably has the same capability to bring that kind of buzz. >> win or lose, the nation's capital is flush with financially winning teams. the capitals and wizards that helped revive the downtown area at the verizon center. and many city leaders even would like to lure the washington redskins maybe with a name change back to the city. sports are big business. >> but if we were not making big moves like this as a city, we're going to stagnate.

>> the verizon center neighborhood isn't stagnating. $200 million in sales and property taxes collected every year clyde's restaurant is one of the businessrie business. an average nitrogen rates $64,000 in sales taxes on just tickets alone. not counting food and merchandise. at a recent d.c. chamber of commerce forum, the bay ball team scored as a city and regional success. >> if you look at our game attendees, we draw a very high percentage, if fact, the majority of our attendees are from the northern virginia area. >> mayor's soccer stadium deal would place it near nats park but it's still limbo before a except i cal city council. but business leaders insist it fits the city's long-term

interest. >> good economic development transcends political administrations and should have a life of their own that stretch out beyond one or two mayoral administrations. it's time to change a whole section of our city. >> with all the positive changes in our region, there are some worries for the future. one is the declining importance of federal government jobs, another is the pace of education reform in the district. here in our nation's capital region, the federal government has always been relied on to keep the local economies growing and stable through bad times. but that's changing. looking to the future, we all have to adjust to a disturbing fact, the federal government no longer can be counted on as that expanding source of jobs and consulting contracts. >> in the last three years, we've lost about 20,000 federal jobs and over $11 billion in government contracting spending. the growth we're going to see in the future is going to be entirely driven by private

sector. >> we need to diversify our economy. we need to diversify our work force. we need to think as a region. >> the city and region are attracting scores of retail yobs and other businesses, but every jurisdiction is searching for higher paying private jobs. >> we need to think creatively and broadly and powerfully about thousand do that. >> and for the district especially, that means pushing even more school reforms to prepare workers for the jobs of the future. improving middle schools, settling intense battle over school boundaries, and clarifying the role of charter schools that now account for 40% of the city's school population. former city planning are director harriet says the city is doing better on schools and business, but everyone knows more needs to be done. >> for the district of columbia, that has really meant addressing what many cities call the push factors, crime, terrible city services and bad public schools,

address those things that push people out of even considering thety as a place to live. >> the city is making many of those changes. our fast growing suburbs are adjusting, too. a whole region benefitting from "boom times." well, thank you for watching. to learn more about the stories we've shared with you, go to our web site nbcwashington.com and search "boom times." i'm tom sherwood. i'm shafer.

i haven't been sleeping well and it makes me grouchy. can you please cheer me up? hmm. aha! i have an idea! everyone buckled up? ready, sean. [barks] all aboard the noodle and doodle bus. ♪ we're traveling around in your neighborhood ♪ ♪ we're doing lots of things as we go ♪ ♪ we're making lots of arts and crafts ♪ ♪ and food that's good ♪ we're hoping we can say hello ♪ ♪ all aboard the noodle and doodle bus ♪ hop on! ♪ there's lots for us to do ♪ ♪ we could bake a cake ♪ there are games to make ♪ it wouldn't be the same without you ♪ [bell ringing]