D.C. Mayor Confirms Funding Commitment for Affordable Housing

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray recently announced more than $35.1 million in financing to be made available by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to create and retain affordable housing units, provide housing counseling services to District residents, and give technical assistance to support small businesses.

In March, DHCD released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) that resulted in more than 60 proposals submitted by 41 organizations. DHCD recommended to the mayor that 39 of those proposals receive federal or local funds administered by the agency. The recommended proposals were submitted by 30 developers and nonprofit organizations that met the agency’s eligibility criteria. Their proposals received high rankings on several scoring factors that included meeting the District’s objectives for affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, and small business assistance.

More than $28 million will be leveraged to create and retain approximately 700 affordable housing units for senior citizens, residents with special needs, and purchases by tenant groups. About $3.8 million will be made available for several organizations to provide housing counseling services to District residents. An additional $3.2 million will be made available for several nonprofits to provide technical assistance and façade improvements to small businesses.

The funds are being made available under HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the Home Investment Partnership (HOME) program, the 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) program, the Community Challenge Planning Grant (CCPG) program, the District’s Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) program, and the Department of Mental Health (DMH).