CVS Health Invests in $23M Affordable Rental in DC
By Keith Loria December 2, 2021 3:43 pm
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CVS Health will invest $9.2 million to build 17 Mississippi Apartments, a building with 41 affordable housing units in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the company said.
It will partner with the NHP Foundation and Legacy Real Estate Development on the project, which is expected to cost $22.8 million in total.
All units in the six-story building are allocated for residents earning at or below 50 percent of area median income, according to a prepared statement from CVS Health.
“As a mission-based provider of affordable housing, addressing racial inequity in the lived environment is baked in to what we do,” Tim Pryor, vice president at NHP, told Commercial Observer. “We always view affordable housing as a critical necessity, a first step to combat inequality and gain access to health services.”
Other funding partners include District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency, Citi Community Capital, WNC & Associates and the DC Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing Production Trust Fund.
Washington, D.C. has a severe shortage of affordable housing. In fact, the DC Housing Authority reported that there are more than 70,000 households awaiting placement in public housing, and a wait of several years for rental vouchers.
“Those are just two indicators of a very constrained market,” Pryor said. “Because of this demand, vacancy for similar affordable housing in the immediate area is very low. The 17 Mississippi building will bring a rare combination of new construction and affordable housing to meet residents’ needs in the neighborhood of Congress Heights.”
Located at 17 Mississippi Avenue in the Congress Heights area in D.C.’s Ward 8, the property will offer a mix of studios and one- and three-bedroom apartments to families and individuals with demonstrated need. “Nine of the 41 units will provide permanent supportive housing for people who are experiencing homelessness or are in need of mental-health support,” according to CVS Health.
The building also caters to local artists, as it features nine units with preference for income-qualified artists and a designated artists’ space, Pryor noted.
Amenities will include community room, artist studio and bicycle storage. Nonprofit Community Connections, a mental health agency, will offer residents case management support, counseling and homeless services, and employment resources.
The project is currently under construction with scheduled completion slated for mid-2023.
Update: This story originally misattributed source material. This has been corrected. We apologize for the error.
Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.
