Affordable DC Community Receives $67M in Financing

The building’s residents will use the loan to purchase and rehabilitate the 358-unit property in Ward 8.

Park Southern Apartments. Rendering courtesy of Marous Brothers Constructions Inc.

The Park Southern Residents’ Council Inc. has received $67 million in financing from The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency for the acquisition and redevelopment of Park Southern Apartments, a 358-unit affordable community in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 8. The building’s residents acquired the asset under the District’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act and appointed Vesta Corp. as the developer of the $88.6 million rehabilitation.

DCHFA provided $41.7 million in tax-exempt bonds and $25.3 million in four percent low-income housing tax credit equity. The project will receive an additional $19.7 million loan from the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing Production Trust Fund.

Located at 800 Southern Ave. SE in Washington Highlands, Park Southern came online in 1965. The 10-story building houses a mix of studio and one- to three-bedroom apartments averaging 699 square feet, according to Yardi Matrix data. All but 22 units are set aside for tenants earning 30 to 80 percent of the area’s median income. Amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center and playground.

The 7.5-acre property is roughly 9 miles southeast of downtown Washington, D.C., in a dense residential area, one mile south of Washington Highland Recreation Center. Eastover Shopping Center is less than a mile southwest.

In August, DCHFA also provided $38 million in financing for the construction of an 86-unit affordable housing project in the city’s Deanwood neighborhood. Developers estimate a January 2021 delivery.

Improved conditions 

The Park Southern rehabilitation project includes unit improvements, laundry rooms renovation and HVAC systems upgrades, as well as the addition of new fitness and learning centers. Vesta will oversee the on-site relocation of current residents while their units are rehabilitated, covering all associated costs.

The D.C. Department of Behavioral Health will provide supportive services to the community’s 10 permanent supportive housing tenants. In addition, a part-time resident services coordinator will advise residents on education, vocation and accessing community-based services and training.