DC Affordable Housing Project Gets $59M in Financing
Situated in the Fort Totten neighborhood, the new building will have double the apartments its predecessor offered.
Wesley Housing Development Corp., an Alexandria, Va.-based nonprofit affordable housing developer, has received a $58.5 million financing package from the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency to build a $61 million, 70-unit affordable apartment building in the Fort Totten neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
DCHFA issued $29.7 million in tax-exempt bonds and underwrote $24.5 million in federal and 4.3 million in DC Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity for One Hawaii Apartments at 1 Hawaii Ave., NE. Additional financing for the project is being provided by a $22.5 million loan from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing Production Trust Fund.
The property is slated for completion in 2026, according to the developer’s website.
Development details
The four-story, 70,349-square-foot building will replace a two-story, 34-unit property at the Ward 5 site. In addition to doubling the density to 70 units, the number of units available for larger families (two- and three-bedroom apartments) will also be doubled. There will be 10 studios, 38 one-bedrooms, seven two-bedrooms and 15 three-bedrooms. All apartments will be reserved for residents earning 30 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income. One Hawaii will have a community room, outdoor terrace, play space, bicycle storage room and below-grade parking for 14 vehicles. The property will be built to LEED Platinum standards and include triple-pane windows, a high-efficiency central gas hot water system and HVAC heat recovery system which can reduce energy consumption by residents to reduce their utility bills.
Recent DC activity
The financing package for One Hawaii was the second closing in June for DCHFA, which issues tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds to lower the developers’ costs of acquiring, constructing and rehabilitating rental housing. Earlier in June, a joint venture between Preservation of Affordable Housing and the District of Columbia Housing Authority received a $134.1 million financing package for The Edmonson, a 139-unit affordable housing development site at the intersection of Firth Sterling Avenue and Suitland Parkway.
Financing included $61.1 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by DCHFA, $52 million in federal LIHTC provided by DCHFA and a $21 million note originated by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development’s New Communities Initiative.
In September, DCHFA provided $51.3 million in financing for the construction of H.R. Crawford Gardens, a $52 million, 76-unit development for seniors, grandfamilies and tenants who previously experienced homelessness. The property at 737 50th St. NE, is being built by Manna Inc., Mutreja Development, MED Developers and CRP Affordable Housing and Community Development. DCHFA issued $25.9 million in tax-exempt bonds and underwrote $21.4 million in federal LIHTC and $4 million in district LIHTC equity for the new community.
