DC Mayor Bowser Plans to Invest $400M in Affordable Housing Fund
By Keith Loria May 24, 2021 5:05 pm
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As part of Washington, D.C.’s budget for Fiscal Year 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser has added $150 million to the Housing Production Trust Fund, and the proposed budget for 2022 will seek a $250 million investment in the program.
The combined $400 million investment will bring Mayor Bowser’s total contribution to the HPTF program to $1 billion, since 2015, when she first took office.
Mayor Bowser’s plan will also funnel additional funding to the Local Rent Supplement Program (LRSP), which targets deeply affordable units at, or below, 30 percent of the median family income, representing nearly $38,700 for a family of four.
Combined, the two investments are expected to bring another 2,700 units of affordable housing to the D.C. area over the next two to three years, with as many as 1,100 of the units deeply affordable.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how fragile our housing ecosystem is and how much our residents depend on us to add more safe and stable affordable housing,” Mayor Bowser said in a prepared statement. “With today’s announcement, we are doubling down on six years of work to preserve and create affordable housing and expediting progress toward our 12,000 affordable housing unit goal. Our residents cannot wait for housing affordability so we are pushing forward right now.”
Previously, the mayor had put at least $100 million in HPTF budgets since 2015, resulting in more than 10,000 affordable homes for families, per the statement.
“With this investment and hard work by our housing partners, our ambitious goal to equitably distribute affordable housing across the city is getting closer to fruition than ever before,” John Falcicchio, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said.
Eight projects are set to receive $92.4 million in immediate funding to produce 462 net new affordable units and preserve another 175 affordable units. Nine additional projects were already selected in March and are currently in the underwriting stage of the development process.
Among the properties are Wesley Housing Development Corporation’s 1 Hawaii Avenue NE in Ward 5 is set to offer 70 new units of affordable housing; Neighborhood Development Company’s 3450 Eads Street NE in Ward 7 will produce 49 new units; Durrani Development Corporation’s Alabama Avenue Apartments in Ward 8 will produce 86 new units; Manna’s H.R. Crawford Gardens in Ward 7 will have 76 new units; and NHP Foundation’s Ridgecrest Village Apartments in Ward 8 will preserve 68 units.
The budget still needs to be passed, with a vote coming later this week.
