New 100-Unit Affordable Housing Project Planned On Rhode Island Avenue NE
The D.C. government is pumping more money into its affordable housing fund, and a new project planned in Northeast aims to put the dollars to use.
Lincoln Westmoreland Housing, a D.C.-based nonprofit developer, is planning a 101-unit affordable housing project at 2911 Rhode Island Ave. NE, Bisnow has learned.
KeyUrban founder and principal Dahn Warner, who is serving as LWH's development consultant on the project, said the project is planned to include one-, two- and three-bedroom units. All of the units will be reserved for those making less than 60% of the area median income, with some units set aside for those below 50% and 30% AMI, he said.
PGN Architects is designing the project, and Hamel Builders has been tapped to construct it. Key Urban and Equity Plus will manage the development, Warner said.
The team plans to apply for funding later this year from D.C.'s Housing Production Trust Fund. The fund has distributed $600M over the past six years, according to the Department of Housing and Community Development. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council this year increased its allocation to $400M over the next two years.
LWH acquired the Rhode Island Avenue property last month for $7M from D.C.-based developer Brick Lane, according to documents posted Aug. 26 to the D.C. Recorder of Deeds. Berkadia's Cameron Webb brokered the deal on behalf of the seller. The previous owner received a zoning map amendment to allow for the project, Warner said.
The property sits a quarter-mile from Eastern Avenue, the street that serves as the D.C.-Maryland border. It is about a mile from MidCity's planned 1,700-unit RIA development and just under 2 miles from the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station and the adjacent Bryant Street mixed-use project from MRP Realty.
"It’s hard to find raw dirt in D.C. that can accommodate enough units of housing to support the kind of financing you typically use when you build affordable housing," Warner said. "We were happy to find sizable land on a major commuter route with bus lines and other amenities available to the residents we hope will be living there."
Developers and business owners will discuss the Rhode Island Avenue corridor on Oct. 27 at Bisnow's New in Northeast D.C. event.
