More Affordable Housing Coming to D.C.

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

The District is determined to create more affordable housing for its residents. Last month, Mayor Muriel Bowser attended several events that highlighted the city’s commitment to this initiative.

On April 22, the Mayor joined District residents and developers for the groundbreaking of the Brightwood Portfolio. The $32 million project is developed by The Hampstead Cos. and NixDevCo LLC. It calls for the renovation of the Concord, Valencia and Vizcaya apartment buildings, in Ward 4’s Brightwood neighborhood and the creation and preservation of 140 one-, two- and three-bedroom affordable apartments. In addition to the renovation of the three historic buildings, the developers will add a new computer room, community room and exercise room.

The project is financed with the help of $14.3 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the D.C. Housing Finance Agency, an acquisition loan of $10.8 million issued by the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development, $2.6 million in federal Historic Tax Credits and $4.5 million in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity. It is expected to be completed by March 2016.

Mayor Bowser attended another groundbreaking on April 27, in the Petworth neighborhood, where Mosaic Development and Donatelli Development are building a $5 million mixed-use, mixed-income development. The project consists of 12 condominium units and 8,000 square feet of retail space. Thirty percent of the units will be affordable.

Also on April 27, the Mayor was present at the ribbon cutting for the Station House mixed-use development near H Street, N.E. This project was developed by Fisher Brothers and Mack-Cali Realty Corp. It features 378 one-, two- and three-bedroom units, and 25,000 square feet of retail space and numerous amenities, including a 110-foot pool and a 6,200-square-foot gym. Twenty-eight of the apartments are affordable.

Photo credit: stationhousedc.com