(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, Mayor Bowser announced the selection of eight projects that will produce or preserve more than 500 affordable housing units with funding from the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF). The Mayor also announced new housing investments that will provide enhanced financial assistance to DC Government employees interested in becoming first-time homebuyers in the District, increasing the amount of home purchase assistance available for all DC Government employees under the Employer-Assisted Housing Program (EAHP) from $10,000 to $20,000 and increasing the benefits Metropolitan Police Department, DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, and Department of Corrections employees can receive toward a home loan down payment to $45,000. 

“The Housing Production Trust Fund projects and the EAHP enhancements support two of my Administration’s top priorities: making housing more affordable for residents and building a safer, stronger DC,” said Mayor Bowser. “Today, we are not only making it easier to attract and retain world-class first responders, we are providing new townhomes for families, affordable housing for seniors, and permanent supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness.”

The eight projects announced by the Mayor, which are listed below, total $75 million in HPTF funding requests and will now proceed to the underwriting stage and join other selected projects already in the pipeline at the DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). DHCD will release the next request for proposals for HPTF funding in November 2017.

“The selection of these projects, including one that will provide homeownership opportunities for District residents, shows how we are increasing the District’s affordable housing stock in a balanced way,” said DHCD Director Polly Donaldson. “In Fiscal Year 2017, our efforts focused on preservation and Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act projects, as this came on the came on the heels of the Preservation Strike Force Report. The eight projects selected from the 2017 RFP tilt more toward new construction and homeownership, because the creation of new units is just as critical as preserving new units.”

Homeownership

• Crawford Landing Townhomes (Ward 7): $6 million in HPTF requested for 28 for-sale townhomes at no more than 80 percent of the Average Median Income ($110,300 in FY 2017); Developer: 49th Street Developer LLC and Chapman Development

Preservation Projects (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act; all will have units ranging from no more than 30 percent to 80 percent Average Median Income)

• Brightwood Gardens, 931 Longfellow Street, NW (Ward 4): $2,417,146 in HPTF requested for 52 units; Developer: Brightwood Gardens Cooperative
• 1445 Spring RD NW Renovation (Ward 4): $1,900,773 in HPTF requested for 13 units; Developer: Redevelopment Housing Advisors and HOPE Cooperative Association

Production Projects (all will have units at no more than 30 percent to 50 percent Average Median Income)

• 1736 Rhode Island Avenue, NE (Ward 5): $10,508,421 in HPTF requested for 63 units that will include 13 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units and 32 units for seniors; Developer: Lock 7 Development
• 555 E Street, SW (Ward 6): $10,171,437 in HPTF requested for 58 units for seniors, seven of which will be PSH units; Developer: 555 E Street SW LLC, CityPartners, Adams Investment Group, DC Strategy Group, and Paramount Development
• 1550 First Street, SW (Ward 6): $12,616,271 in HPTF requested for 76 units that will include 16 PSH units; Developer: REBJ, Inc.
• Capitol Vista, 888 New Jersey Avenue, NW (Ward 6): $15,278,856 in HPTF requested for 104 units that will include 21 PSH units; Developer: Dantes Partners and Aroli Group LLC
• Stanton Square Apartments, 2395 Pomeroy Road, SE (Ward 8): $16,680,657 in HPTF requested for 121 units that will include 12 PSH units; Developer: Sunrise Development Corporation and Washington Business Group

Enhanced Assistance for First Responders

The Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget nearly doubled the Employer-Assisted Housing Program budget from $1 million to almost $2 million to help ensure that the Administration is recruiting and retaining the best and brightest talent to both work and live in Washington, DC. Under the enhancement for first responders, they will receive $1,500 in District-matched funds for every contribution of $2,500 up to $15,000, access to a deferred payment loan up to $20,000, and eligibility for a grant of up to $10,000 to go toward their first home purchase. Additionally, DC Government employees are still eligible to apply for up to $80,000 in assistance under the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP), meaning that with the new enhancements, first responders can potentially receive up to $125,000 in home purchase assistance from the District. Since October 2015, more than $1.9 million has been awarded in EAHP funding, which has helped 181 DC Government employees become city residents. 

Housing Week 2017

Today’s announcements are part of Housing Week 2017, a combined effort to highlight the remarkable progress the Bowser Administration has made to produce and preserve affordable housing across all eight wards. Since 2015, the Administration has sparked the creation or preservation of more than 8,400 affordable units, with another 3,700 units in preconstruction. On Monday, the Mayor highlighted more than $138 million in investments from the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) in fiscal year 2017. The investments will support 23 projects that will produce or preserve more than 1,900 affordable housing units throughout the city.