Another tool is being added to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development’s (DMPED) toolbox when it comes to preserving affordable housing in Washington, D.C.
Already, Mayor Muriel Bowser invests over $100 million towards affordable housing in the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF). The $100 million fund is never a given until it actually shows up in the budget, but a source at the DMPED says it is expected to be in the Mayor’s fiscal year 2018 budget that will be released on April 4.
How can the money stretch farther? According to the DMPED source, it is cheaper to preserve an affordable housing unit than to build one. So, Mayor Muriel Bowser is expected to announce this Thursday evening that she will be the first person to invest $10 million in a housing preservation fund and therefore also be the first mayor to go north of $100 million to support affordable housing the District. The funding will start in the fiscal year 2018.
The funding is also expected to leverage private capital to support the preservation of affordable housing units in D.C. The amount leveraged will depend on the partners that D.C. has, but what is expected is an additional estimated $40 million investment in affordable housing.
The fund will finance real estate activities, including but not limited to acquisition costs, pre-development expenses, and critical life safety repairs.