D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Thursday the release of the Consolidated Request for Proposals (RFP) for affordable housing projects, putting $400 million into the market from the Housing Production Trust, as well as other federal and local aid, to help build and preserve economical housing in the city.
“I promised we would make big investments in our Housing Production Trust Fund — and at $1 billion since 2015, that’s exactly what we’ve done,” the mayor said in a statement. “But now there’s more work to do and more housing to build. We were proud to make Washington, D.C., the first city in the nation to set affordable housing targets by neighborhood, and now we’re calling our housing partners to use these historic investments to help us achieve those goals.”
Bowser has repeatedly said throughout her tenure that her goal is to build 36,000 new homes by 2025 to help District residents become housed.
The mayor and senior members of her administration made the announcement on the site of 218 Vine Street NW, which is to be a 129-unit senior affordable housing project selected by the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development from the RFP in 2018, celebrating a topping out in the construction process.
Jair Lynch, a District developer who is set to develop the Vine project, expressed excitement about the RFP.
“Out team is driven to produce new quality housing for all,” Lynch said. “With strong partners like the mayor and her agency teams we can develop affordable housing for our beloved seniors. As we reach this milestone of topping out the project we look forward to a ribbon-cutting next spring and residents enjoying their new homes next summer.”
Additionally, Bowser and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development issued an EquityRFP for the 1234 Good Hope Road SE location in Anacostia. The goal of this action is to create homeownership opportunities, office space for small businesses and retail opportunities in Anacostia.
The site is located at the intersection of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. The EquityRFP is designed to give special incentives to white firms to work with minority businesses on the project.