Metro is officially changing the name of a Red Line station.
WMATA officials, Mayor Vincent Gray and others will gather Wednesday morning at what's currently known as the New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U station.
The station will have a shorter name -- NoMa-Gallaudet U -- that gives a nod to the burgeoning neighbhorhood surrounding it.
NoMa is an initialism for "North of Massachusetts Avenue" that is being used by real estate developers to brand a large tract of D.C. land located just north of Capitol Hill and Union Station.
The area comprises the neighborhoods of Truxton Circle, Sursum Corda and Near Northeast, and includes a section historically known as Swampoodle.
Although much of the planning for the area took place during the late 1990s, formal development began when the District of Columbia City Council approved creation of the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID). Development has ushered in a number of prominent commercial businesses, government organizations, and retail establishments.
Signs at the station and throughout the Metro system have been changed to reflect the new name. Metro says "New York Ave" will be shown as a secondary name for a year to assist customers during the transition.
The station opened in November 2004 and serves 7,400 riders each weekday.
