(WASHINGTON, DC) – In just five months in to Fiscal Year 2017, one half of the District’s $100 million Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) has been allocated to projects that will produce and preserve affordable housing across four Wards. The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced today that the HPTF’s $50.3 million mark was met by the closing of two projects that will provide 250 affordable units in Wards 1 and 8.

“At the close of FY 2016, we celebrated a record investment of Housing Production Trust Fund dollars, and we expect a great year in FY 2017,” said DHCD Director Polly Donaldson. “We know how important it is for District residents to have an affordable place to call home, and that’s why we are aggressively working to turn more affordable project projects from ideas into reality. To date, our actions in FY 2017 will result in nearly 400 units of affordable housing.”

DHCD provided South Capitol Improvements, LLC with more than $25.1 million in HPTF financing to build a new 195-unit rental housing development at 4001 South Capitol Street SW in Ward 8. The project also received equity financing through an offering of $1.6 million in 4 percent low income housing tax credits (LIHTC) by the DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA).

The units at South Capitol will remain affordable to households earning no more than 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), and more than one-third of the units will be suitable for families. The unit breakdown will be 52 two-bedrooms, nine three-bedrooms, 110 one-bedrooms and 24 efficiencies.

DHCD also provided Glenn Arms Preservation, LP with more than $1.6 million in HPTF financing for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 55 affordable housing units at 2518 and 2524 17th Street NW in Ward 1. The project, which also received equity financing through an offering of $771,000 in 4 percent LIHTCs by the DCHFA, will have 45 units for households earning no more than 30 percent of AMI; 10 units will be for households earning no more than 60 percent of AMI. The units at Glenn Arms consist of 23 one-bedrooms, eight two-bedrooms, two three-bedrooms and 12 studios.

Earlier FY17 projects that make up HPTF investment of over $50 million include:

• In October 2016, DHCD refinanced a loan agreement that provided $990,000 in HPTF funds to preserve 27 affordable housing units in Ward 4.
• In January 2017, DHCD provided more than $22.4 million in HPTF financing for the preservation of 148 affordable housing units in Ward 7 and production of 114 units in Ward 8.

In total, the five projects that have closed in FY17 will produce or preserve 391 units of affordable housing.

Unprecedented Action

In October, Mayor Bowser celebrated the unprecedented investment of over $100 million from HPTF for FY 2016. The $106.3 million supports 19 projects that will produce or preserve more than 1,200 affordable housing units in all 8 wards. Since taking office, Mayor Bowser has made affordable housing a major focus of her administration.

Mayor Bowser has committed $100 million annually to the fund each year of her administration, and will include that figure in her upcoming FY2018 budget proposal. This commitment is more than any city per capita in the country. A report issued by Center for Community Change shows that the District’s $100 million fund more than tripled the next highest fund amount for a U.S. city. Compared to states, DC’s trust fund is the country’s second largest.

Since January 2015, the Bowser Administration has produced and preserved over 3,100 units of affordable housing units in the District with more to come. More than 3,700 affordable housing units—capable of housing more than 9,250 District residents—are in the development pipeline.