(Washington, DC) – Today, at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Baldwin Apartments in Ward 6, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that since 2015, the Bowser Administration has delivered a record 7,200 affordable housing units. The Baldwin is a new 100 percent affordable housing community on the thriving H Street corridor.
“We are proud that we were able to deliver more than 7,200 units of affordable housing over the past four years, but now we’re focused on accelerating this progress,” said Mayor Bowser. “By 2025, we need to produce an additional 36,000 units of housing in the District. To do this, we’ve got to be willing to think and act differently. We have to seize opportunities to produce affordable housing; we have double-down on what we know works; and every part of our city needs to play a role in delivering the types of housing our residents need.”
The more than 7,200 units of affordable housing produced and preserved since January 2015 were delivered through DC agency-led projects and many were the result of the Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) and Planned Unit Development (PUD) processes, through which developers may be granted zoning relief by working with neighborhood stakeholders to deliver community benefits like affordable housing. The Bowser Administration recently improved its affordable housing database on Open Data DC by including PUDs, thereby providing the public a more complete and transparent picture of affordable housing production.
“On day one, Mayor Bowser charged me with making affordable housing a priority so that people who want to live in the District can do so,” said Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Brian Kenner. “We work on fulfilling this commitment every day and will continue to deliver affordable housing units in all areas of the city.”
The Baldwin is located at 1300 H Street, NE, the former site of the R.L. Christian Library and in close proximity to the DC Streetcar, bus routes, multiple grocery stores, churches, recreation centers, restaurants, and more. The building is comprised of 33 units of deeply affordable housing – a mix of units for residents making up to 30 percent of the Median Family Income (approximately $30,160 a year for a family of four) and up to 50 percent of the Median Family Income ($58,600 a year). The building includes six three-bedroom, family-sized units.
The Mayor was joined at the groundbreaking by Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development Polly Donaldson, and community members.