Mayor Gray Breaks Ground on House of Lebanon Mixed-Use Project at Former M. M. Washington Career High School Site
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray, other government officials and representatives of the project’s development team today broke ground on the House of Lebanon, a mixed-use real estate project providing affordable housing for seniors, new amenities and new community space on the site of the former Margaret Murray Washington Career High School in Ward 5.
“Affordable housing can be a struggle for people of all ages, and District seniors deserve the very best,” said Mayor Gray. “This public-private collaborative reflects my administration’s commitment to ensuring every resident who wants to remain in the District has access to safe, livable, affordable housing that creates a sense of community.”
Principals from the development partnership – Mission First Housing Development Corporation; Urban Matters Development Partners, LLC; Mt. Lebanon Community Development Corporation; and Square 134 Architects – joined representatives from the Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church and the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) in helping Mayor Gray, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie and Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor L. Hoskins formally kick off construction at the 94,000-square-foot site. When completed, House of Lebanon will include 82 affordable rental units and 15,000 square feet of community space.
“We are committed to encouraging economic development that helps build and maintain thriving communities across the District of Columbia,” said Deputy Mayor Hoskins. “We are working diligently to ensure that our affordable housing stock is large enough to sustain the populations within the District citizenry that need it most while we also work on revitalizing neighborhoods and commercial corridors.”
House of Lebanon is part of the Gray Administration’s efforts to boost the amount of affordable housing available in the District. The project is part of the over $2 billion worth of District-affiliated projects currently under construction across the city, creating thousands of construction jobs and permanent jobs. Over 1250 units of District-affiliated affordable housing have come online during the Gray administration. An additional 1200 units are currently under construction.
The projects comes after the launch of the Mayor’s Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force, which is tasked with looking at existing options and recommending ways to increase the District’s affordable housing stock for all populations. Later this year, the task force will report on its first set of recommendations. Additional information about the House of Lebanon project can be found via the website of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development here.
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