Investment Keeps 64 Apartment Units Affordable in Ward 1

Washington, DC – August 1, 2016 – Jubilee Housing, a 43-year-old organization that provides service-enriched affordable housing to nearly 800 low-income residents in Ward One of the District of Columbia, recently closed on a $7.5 million acquisition loan from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The loan will preserve 64 affordable housing units in Maycroft Apartments, located at 1640 Columbia Road NWin the heart of Columbia Heights.

“As individuals and families are being squeezed out of the District due to high housing costs, we are grateful that our partners at DHCD chose to invest in the Maycroft at this time. Soon scores of families who are at risk of displacement will be able to benefit from the progress of the city with access to affordable housing and supportive services,” said Myra Peabody Gossens, chair of the Jubilee Housing Board of Directors.

The majority of the units will be affordable to families earning at or below 30 percent of Area Median Income, approximately $29,000 per year for a family of three, with 15 units designated as permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless. The renovation will also create space for three critical family support services: an early childhood education center, an after school program for teens, and a family resource center for low-income residents.

At a time when there is a shortage of 20,000 affordable housing units in the District and one in three children still live below the poverty line, the DHCD investment advances the redevelopment of a project that not only adds to the City’s stock of deeply affordable rental housing but also provides support families that help them overcome the effects of poverty.

“We are excited to advance this important development effort that builds new affordable housing and ensures that our youngest children are ready for school and our high school students graduate ready for college and career success. In addition to these critical benefits for families, the project protects valuable diversity in our city, helping promote inclusivity and justice.”

For more information, read DHCD’s press release about the investment here.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Fritz Gutwein
Vice President of Institutional Advancement
202-299-1240 x 20111
fgutwein@jubileehousing.org