On Friday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser celebrated the "unprecedented investment" of $106.3 million fully invested to preserve affordable housing in Washington, D.C. The funding comes from the Housing Production Trust Fund and is expected to help over 2,600 residents with 19 projects in the District.
In a statement, Bowser said, "This amount of financial commitment — and the speed in which it occurred — has never happened in the District of Columbia."
According to The Washington Post, the funding will cover six new ground-up construction developments and 13 rehabs of existing buildings. Approximately 1,200 units below market rates are expected to be built or preserved. An average of $88,300 will go towards each unit.
Some of the projects that the contribution will cover include the construction of the $17.2 million Beacon Center, which will house 99 affordable residential units at at 6100 Georgia Avenue NW, and a pilot program with the D.C. Housing Authority that will fund repairs for properties serving low-income households. $17.95 million will go towards the Conway Center’s 178 units for homeless families and four units for staff, located at 4414 Benning Road NE.
Additionally, $25.6 million will go towards TOPA purchases with 315 affordable housing units expected to be preserved. Approximately $9 million will also go towards acquiring and refinancing over 100 affordable units. Finally, public housing repairs will receive slightly less than $1 million.
According to a press release, Bowser has committed $100 million annually to the Housing Production Trust Fund since coming into office, more than any city per capita in the country.