From the Lofts at Brightwood, a new condominium complex in the 5800 block of Georgia Avenue Northwest, it’s a 1.6 mile drive to the closest retail stores in Silver Spring, Md.

City officials estimate District residents spend $1 billion a year on goods and services in the suburbs, because the clothes, housewares, hardware and grocery stores in town are inconvenient or inaccessible. The Georgia Avenue corridor is a prime example, D.C. leaders said Thursday, of an area in desperate need of a targeted retail infusion.