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HPTF Financing Will Produce and Preserve Affordable Housing for Over 170 Residents in Wards 5 and 7

Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Funding will preserve 80 units for tenants under TOPA, produce 14 new family-style condominiums

(WASHINGTON, DC) – The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) recently closed on loan agreements totaling $9.2 million that will produce or preserve 94 units of affordable housing—expected to house over 170 residents in Wards 5 and 7. The financing was provided through the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF).

“The Bowser Administration is using a variety of tools that are producing and preserving more affordable housing for District residents,” said DHCD Director Polly Donaldson. “The Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) is a unique law that helps tenants avoid displacement by giving them the option to purchase their buildings. The Housing Production Trust Fund provides the gap financing that helps rehabilitate existing properties, and construct new ones. As a result, over 100 residents will keep their affordable housing in a neighborhood that has seen escalating housing prices, and dozens more will soon become first-time homeowners.”

DHCD provided Wesley Housing Development Corporation (WHDC) with $8.82 million in HPTF financing to preserve 80 one-bedroom units—several to be converted into family-sized units—at the Brookland Place Apartments, at 617-643 Hamlin Street NE and 2908-2920 7th Street NE, in the Ward 5 neighborhood of Brookland. WHDC also received financing from DC Housing Finance Agency in the form of equity from 4 percent low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) and revenue bonds. The tenants, through the Brookland Park NE Tenants Association, had invoked their rights under TOPA.

Habitat for Humanity of Washington, DC, was provided $400,000 to help construct 14 new, affordable condominiums at 28th Place SE, in the Randle Highlands neighborhood of Ward 7. That project will be geared toward first-time homebuyers.

The Brookland Place units will be reconfigured into six studios, 68 one-bedroom units and six two-bedroom units that will accommodate existing families who are under-housed. All units will be designated for households as follows: (1) 15 units at no more than 30 percent of the Median Family Income (MFI, $35,160 in 2018); and (2) 65 units at 60 percent MFI ($70,320 in 2018). The average annual household income of the over 130 mostly Hispanic and African-American residents living there is nearly $35,000 (roughly 30 percent MFI). Since its founding in 1974, WHDC has developed 28 affordable housing communities in Virginia, representing over 2,100 housing units serving over 25,000 individuals. This is WHDC’s first acquisition in the District, and the first time it partnered with a tenant association.

“Wesley Housing is incredibly honored to play an important role in affordable housing preservation within a neighborhood that is experiencing significant continued gentrification, making it increasingly unaffordable to low and middle-income households,” said WHDC President/CEO Shelly S. Murphy. “The District’s financing support has been the keystone to making the deal work and will allow for the substantial rehabilitation of the property.”

Two and three-bedroom units are planned for 28th Place SE, making the project ideal for families. Five units will be affordable for households making no more than $58,600 (50 percent MFI); the remaining nine units will be for households at or below $93,760 (80 percent MFI).

DC Habitat is a nonprofit organization founded in 1988 that builds affordable, energy-efficient homes for low and moderate income households. This will be DC Habitat’s first condominium-style construction project, and will be marketed toward first-time homebuyers who must fulfill requirements such as contributing 300 hours of “sweat equity.”

“DC Habitat is very pleased to work closely with DHCD and the Housing Production Trust Fund to produce 14 new family sized homes for ownership in the Randle Highlands, SE neighborhood,” said DC Habitat President/CEO Susanne Slater. “DC Habitat will be serving a variety of low income residents who otherwise could not afford to own a home. Many thanks to DHCD and the HPTF for making all this possible.” Slater is also chairman of the HPTF advisory board.

Bowser Administration’s Commitment to Affordable Housing

Since coming into office, the Bowser Administration has sparked the creation or preservation of more 10,400 affordable units, with another 2,950 in preconstruction. In Fiscal Year 2017, the District made historic investments in affordable housing, getting more than $138 million in HPTF financing out the door to support 23 projects that will produce or preserve more than 1,500 affordable units.

The Brookland Place project supports the Mayor’s implementation of a key recommendation of the Housing Preservation Strike Force—to improve preservation under TOPA. Recently, the Mayor announced new Strike Force initiatives: the appointment of a preservation officer and the selection of two managers for a $10 million public-private preservation fund.

The Mayor has also made enhancements to the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) and Employer-Assisted Housing Program (EHAP) for District government employees that increased the purchasing power of first-time homebuyers. In her FY 2019 FairShot Budget, she has proposed a $10 million increase in HPAP to further help individuals and families establish roots in the District.

During her State of the District address, Mayor Bowser announced Roots to Roofs DC, an initiative that highlights the programs, tools, and resources her Administration is using to make Washington, DC more affordable for residents in all eight wards.

The District’s multi-pronged approach to housing production and preservation, homeownership, and development of vacant properties is winning national recognition. The District is the 2017 winner of the Urban Land Institute’s Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award. This annual award, provided by ULI’s Terwilliger Center for Housing, recognizes innovative ways the public sector is addressing the nation’s affordable housing crisis.

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