DCist by Christina Sturdivant
The city broke ground today on a development that’s the first to come out of the troubled New Communities Initiative in nearly four years.
Deanwood Hills, a 150-unit affordable housing development in Ward 7, will include 50 units for residents of the Lincoln Heights and Richardson Dwellings housing projects, which are slated to be demolished by 2025, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser's office.
All of the units in the four-story building will be priced for people earning 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) or below. Those reserved for the housing projects’ residents will range from 0-30 percent AMI.
Officials expect the $33 million development to be completed by spring 2018.
“With every affordable housing unit added in Washington, DC, we are ensuring that more residents and families are given a fair shot," said Mayor Bowser in a release. "I look forward to welcoming residents to their new Deanwood Hills homes and continuing to expand opportunities east of the Anacostia River.”
The District launched the New Communities Initiative in 2005. The project had plans to redevelop four dilapidated properties without putting residents on the street during construction processes. Newly constructed buildings would house those residents, in addition to bringing in tenants with higher incomes.
Former Mayor Vincent Gray initiated the inclusion of Lincoln Heights into the plan when he represented Ward 7 on the D.C. council. It also targets Barry Farm in Ward 8, Temple Courts in Ward 6 and Park Morton in Ward 1.
After several years, the project was criticized for not delivering on its promises as most of its more than 1,300 beneficiaries were still living in decrepit housing. In late 2013 and early 2014, The Washington Post reported on D.C.’s struggle to replace units demolished at Temple Courts and Lincoln Heights. The city also ended its negotiations with Landex Corp. and Warrenton Group to develop the Park Morton complex over "unacceptable" delays.
In June 2014, the project’s first annual report was released, showing that a mere 305 units had been completed. Bowser, who was Ward 4 councilmember and lead of the Committee on Economic Development at the time, initiated a legislation that mandated the report.
:ater that year, then-Mayor Vincent Gray introducde a resolution to fix the program with strict deadlines and transparency.
There are currently nearly 600 units occupied at the Lincoln Heights and Richardson Dwellings housing projects, according to Joaquin McPeek, spokesperson for the mayor’s office. Deanwood Hills has the largest number of replacement units under the New Communities Initiative to date.
http://dcist.com/2016/11/deanwood_hills_new_communities.php