Ndidi Okakpu could not wait to attend the ribbon cutting of The Clara, a mixed-used development including affordable rental housing located in Anacostia on March 8.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council member Trayon White (D-Ward 8), The Clara’s development team, and local Islamic leaders, delivered speeches before the official ribbon cutting.
Okakpu stepped inside the new building and toured an apartment unit on the sixth floor.
Okakpu, a District native who lives in Chicago, was impressed.
“I love it,” she said. “So far, it is lovely. The rooms are nice, efficient, and clean. I look forward to seeing this develop positively.”
About The Clara
Masjid Muhammad acquired the properties at 2313-2315 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE in the 1960s and the adjacent parcel at 2323 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE in the 2000s. It was formerly the site of the Clara Muhammad School, one of more than 80 schools in inner cities across the country, named in honor of the wife of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad.
It was also the site of Shabazz Bakery and Muhammad Mosque #4. Later, it became the home of Muhammad Ali’s Champs Gourmet Cookies, and for nearly 10 years, it served as the site for America’s Islamic Heritage Museum.
The 81 new affordable housing units include studios, as well as one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. The facility has 61 units reserved for households earning up to 50% of the median family income (MFI) and the remaining 20 units for those earning up to 30% of the MFI.
The site also features 11,000 square feet of retail space for local businesses, including Sweet Tooth Bakery and Restaurant, and TOIZ, a youth-owned environmental tenant services company that provides laundry, vending, and environmental equipment.
The Clara, a $47 million project, was developed through a partnership between the District government and Banneker Ventures, a Black-owned full-service real estate development and construction firm with offices in the District and suburban Maryland. Banneker Ventures and Medina Living Ideas for Family Excellence (L.I.F.E.) Community Development Corporation serve as the project team for The Clara.
The Clara was supported by several District government agencies with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development serving as the lead and City First Bank and Wells Fargo financing parts of the project.
Exceeding CBE/DBE Expectations
Christopher Donald, executive director and CEO of the D.C. Housing Finance Agency, praised the new development for its innovative nature.
“The Clara represents the first of its kind faith-based partnership with an Islamic house of worship,” said Donald.
“I’m excited to join you today for the opening of this magnificent building,” Ward 8 Council member Trayon White (D) said. “This development is more than just a building; it’s about inspiring our people to believe in themselves and having ownership in our community.”
White described Omar Karim, the president of Banneker Ventures, as a “visionary” and “a pioneer for affordable housing who was committed to going far and beyond what we asked for.”
According to Karim, the project awarded the majority of its contracts to CBEs and DBEs and exceeded its commitment to hire Ward 8 and District residents.
Further, Karim said there are advantages for tenants living in The Clara.
“It is close to the Metro and public transportation,” he said. “There is also retail and other types of housing close by. And there will be a new government agency moving to the neighborhood.”
Karim, 49, said Banneker Ventures specializes in rental housing and noted that building affordable condominiums is challenging because they are difficult to finance.
He said The Clara location could precipitate an economic boom like when the Frank D. Reeves Building in Northwest opened on U Street in the 1980s.
“This project,” Karim said, “took a lot of work. But it did not start with us. We are the fulfillment in the continuity of the bold dreams of our ancestors. [We must] dream big, go to work, work together, dream together, build together, be together collectively; like a collective.”
