Washington City Paper by Andrew Gaimbrone

A five-story building with more than 30 units of affordable housing will go up on Bladensburg Road NE, replacing two vacant homes in Ward 5.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, and other District officials broke ground on the project Tuesday morning, at 2613-2615 Bladensburg Road NE, between South Dakota and New York avenues NE. Supported by more than $5.3 million in bond financing from the D.C. Housing Finance Agency and $3.2 million in low-income tax credits, the $11 million development will feature 25 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom units as well as almost 20 parking spaces. The units are set aside for residents earning up to 60 percent of the area median income, which was about $66,000 for a family of four and $52,000 for a family of two last year. The D.C. Coalition for Housing Justice will supervise tenant services at the site. 

"This is a prime example of what the $100 million"—Bowser's annual investment in the Housing Production Trust Fund—"goes towards," says Polly Donaldson, director of the Department of Housing and Community Development. "There will be support services [from the Department of Behavior Health] along with the providing of an apartment...that will be key and critical to [tenants'] being able to be thriving members of this neighborhood."

Five of the units will be designated for DBH clients, while DCCHJ will provide services like budget and employment counseling.

The plans for the building, which includes a green roof, follow below:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/housing-complex/blog/20835823/dc-breaks-ground-on-11-million-affordable-housing-project-in-ward-5