Mayor Bowser’s Budget Proposal Adds $500M to Affordable Housing Fund
By Keith Loria March 17, 2022 5:43 pm
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Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled her Fiscal Year 2023 Budget and Financial Plan on Wednesday, asking for $19.5 billion to make continued investments in public safety, housing and ending homelessness, among other pressing issues.
“We all made countless sacrifices during the COVID-19 pandemic, whether physical, emotional, social or financial,” Bowser said in a prepared statement. “As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, we want to make up for lost time and opportunities. Our FY23 budget proposal builds on the recovery budget we put forward last year to help more Washingtonians build a future in a safer, stronger, healthier and more equitable D.C.”
Affordable housing was a big part of her ask, with an unprecedented $500 million contribution to the Housing Production Trust Fund and $41 million aimed for project-sponsor vouchers to make housing affordable to low-income residents.
Additionally, the mayor’s budget included $110 million for the rehabilitation or replacement of more than 1,500 units of public housing over the next three years, the majority aimed at seniors; and $219 million to bring back public housing units at Barry Farm, Park Morton, Bruce Monroe and Northwest One.
Other housing lines in the budget include $120 million for rent and utility assistance across the next two years, and the addition of a $12 million fund for a new housing provider and $26 million to help low-income first-time homebuyers with down payment and closing cost assistance.
“With this budget, we will address the very real anxiety residents are feeling about affordability, get [Metropolitan Police Department] back to 4,000 sworn officers [from 3,580 currently] and make new investments in residents at-risk of being involved in gun violence, make Washington, D.C., among the first cities in the nation to end chronic homelessness, and double down on the world-class city services and infrastructure that D.C. residents expect,” Bowser said.
Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.
