Mayor Bowser Releases DC Housing Preservation Strike Force Report

November 10, 2016

Final Report Details Six-Step Plan to Preserve Affordable Units in the District by 2020; 13 Projects Will Produce or Preserve More Than 1,200 Units

(Washington, DC – RealEstateRama) — Mayor Muriel Bowser released a final report from the DC Housing Preservation Strike Force detailing a proactive, multi-pronged strategy for the District to use in preserving its existing supply of affordable housing. The Mayor also announced the selection of 13 projects that will produce or preserve more than 1,200 affordable housing units across Washington, DC as part of DC’s Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF).

“Preserving affordable housing is critically important because nearly 14,000 existing housing covenants are expected to expire by 2020. That is why one of my early initiatives as Mayor was to establish the Strike Force,” said Mayor Bowser. “The Strike Force developed a plan that will take Washington, DC to the next level in its housing preservation strategy and I am pleased to say that the District is already acting to turn the plan’s recommendations into reality.”

The full report expands upon six key recommendations initially announced in June at the DC Housing Expo and Home Show. The recommendations include: 1) establishing a preservation unit; 2) creating a public-private preservation fund; 3) expanding resources to preserve small properties; 4) adopting regulations for the District Opportunity to Purchase Act (DOPA); 5) advancing preservation through the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA); and 6) enhancing programs to allow low-income seniors to age in place.

“As chairperson of the Strike Force, it was an honor to work with a varied group of housing stakeholders all committed to one goal – preserving affordable housing in DC,” said DHCD Director Polly Donaldson. “With the release of the full report, our work as the Strike Force has ended; however, our work as housing stakeholders to help implement the recommendations continues.”

The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has begun the process of implementing the Strike Force recommendations with the goal of completing them by 2020. In June, the same month the recommendations were announced, Mayor Bowser unveiled “Great Spaces, Healthy Places,” a pilot program by DHCD and the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs that provides renovation loans to preserve small properties by eliminating safety hazards and improving living conditions. In August, all six strike force recommendations were incorporated into the District’s Five Year Consolidated Plan, which was submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The five-year plan details the District’s vision for the use of federal resources for housing related activities through September 2020.

This fall, regulations for DOPA will be proposed and made available for public comment and input. The regulations will establish the requirements and process by which the District government can buy rental housing units to preserve affordability.

Next year, the hiring process will begin for staffing the preservation unit. Housed at DHCD, the preservation unit will be the District’s central resource to preserve existing affordable housing and identify new opportunities. The development of a public-private preservation fund also will begin next year. This critical fund will help the District act earlier by focusing public dollars for preservation transactions and also leveraging greater amounts of private capital to preserve affordable housing. The implementation goal is to identify potential investors and secure private financing by December 2018. The District will provide seed money to the fund that will enable earlier investments in preservation deals and increase the likelihood of successful outcomes in such deals. In fiscal year 2017, DHCD’s approved budget includes a $10 million set aside for affordable housing preservation.

The Strike Force’s action plan is one of several tools used to preserve, and produce, affordable housing in the District. Another significant tool is the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF). Today, the Mayor also announced 13 projects that will use investments from the HPTF, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and Low Rent Subsidy Program, in addition to other public and private funds, to produce or preserve more than 1,200 affordable housing units in the District. The funding awards are the result of the DHCD’s 2016 Funding Notice and Request for Proposal Process, also known as Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA).

Preservation Projects (Name, Location, Developer)

5610 Colorado Avenue, NW Cooperative (Ward 4), 5610 Colorado Avenue, NW Cooperative, Inc.
Fort Stevens Place Apartments, 1339 Fort Stevens Drive, NW (Ward 4), Community Housing Inc.
Partner Arms 2, 4506 Georgia Avenue, NW (Ward 4), Transitional Housing Corporation
Brookland Place Apartments, 617 Hamlin Stree,t NE (Ward 5), Wesley Housing Development Corporation
Delta Towers, 1400 Florida Avenue, NE (Ward 5), Dantes Partners and Fort Lincoln New Town Corporation
Maplewood Courts, 2300, 2302, 2304, 2306, 2308 Hartford Street, SE (Ward 8), Hopmeadow Development DC LLC and Hopmeadow Development Inc.

New Production Projects (Name, Location, Developer)

Abrams Hall, Building 14 on the Walter Reed campus (Ward 4), Urban Atlantic and Hines Interests Limited Partnership
1164 Bladensburg Road, NE (Ward 5), Neighborhood Development Company LLC and Arten Bladensburg, LLC
Diane’s House, 2619 Bladensburg Road, NE (Ward 5), Flaherty & Collins Dev LLC and Diane’s House Ministries
Liberty Place Apartments, address TBD (Ward 6), National Housing Trust – Enterprise Preservation Corporation and IBF Development
St. Elizabeth’s East Housing, 1000 Alabama Avenue, SE (Ward 8), Anacostia Economic Development Corporation and Flaherty & Collins Development LLC
City View, 2850 Douglas Place, SE (Ward 8), William C. Smith
Parkway Overlook Apartments, 2707-2715 Robinson Place, SE (Ward 8), DC Housing Authority

Since taking office, Mayor Bowser has made affordable housing a major focus of her Administration. The Mayor has committed $100 million annually to the HPTF – 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.

For more information on the Strike Force and its report, as well as the HPTF projects, please visit dhcd.dc.gov .