DC Curbed by Michelle Goldchain

Can Washington, D.C. keep rents affordable and revitalize neighborhoods at the same time? That's the goal for this month with the Department of Housing and Community Development's (DHCD) first annual "June Housing Bloom." This month-long initiative will focus on affordable housing and how the public and private sectors can come together to cultivate it.

Washington City Paper reported that the DHCD put out five solicitations for the development of 25 D.C.-owned properties on June 1. These properties are located in Wards 4, 5, 7, and 8. On the DHCDwebsite, it says, "The goal is to build projects that promote vibrant, walk-able, mixed-use, and mixed-income neighborhoods and combat blight in the District." More information on each site will be available at a meeting on June 22 at the DHCD Housing Resource Center at 1800 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. The deadline to submit for these proposals is September 1.

This month, the DHCD will also host the eighth annual Annual DC Housing Expo and Home Showon June 11, an event that is meant to be a one-stop shop for resources related to housing and community development. Over 5,000 people are expected to attend.

The "Economic Intelligence Roundtable" will be hosted on June 17 at the IBM Institute for Electronic Government headquarters. This no-cost event will focus on affordable housing data and requires a reservation by June 10.

Finally, there will be a groundbreaking ceremony on June 20 in Mount Vernon Triangle for Plaza West. This development, located at 307 K Street NW, will provide more than 120 affordable housing units to the neighborhood.

From July 2014 to July 2015, the District has created over 3,400 affordable housing units, according to the DHCD website. Currently, there are over 5,300 affordable housing units in the pipeline. Nearly 12,000 residents are expected to eventually live in these units.

http://dc.curbed.com/2016/6/2/11841384/affordable-housing-june-housing-bloom