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David Bowers, Vice President and Impact Market Leader, Washington, D.C. |
Enterprise recently invested $2.7 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity to support a new affordable apartment complex in Arlington, Va. The $13 million project, built on land provided by Macedonia Baptist Church, will offer 36 affordable rental homes and help support the revitalization of the Nauck community, a historic neighborhood settled by free African Americans before the Civil War.
The apartment community will include underground parking, a business center and energy-efficient, green features such as Energy Star appliances. Five units will be dedicated to Arlington County’s Supportive Housing Program for people with disabilities.
The building will also contain more than 2,000 square feet of commercial office space for the Bonder and Amanda Johnson Community Development Corporation and a business incubator for start-up companies. Macedonia Baptist Church will offer seminars and workshops to the Nauck community as well as food distribution through its SHARE program.
The community is expected to open in summer 2011.
Enterprise recently teamed up with The Community Builders (TCB) to help finance a major affordable housing development in Southeast Washington, D.C. Enterprise Community Loan Fund supported the $20 million renovation with a $5.5 million acquisition loan, which provided critical financial assistance to the large-scale, fast-paced redevelopment project.
In record-time of just seven months, the Fairlawn Marshall Apartments were re-opened. The mixed-income redevelopment, which consists of eight scattered-site buildings in the Marshall Heights and Fairlawn neighborhoods, addresses the extraordinary demand for high-quality, well-managed affordable housing in the District of Columbia.
Of the 98 renovated one- and two-bedroom apartments, 30 homes serve families earning up to $30,800; 10 are for individuals and families with disabilities; and the remaining 58 are Low-Income Housing Tax Credit units that serve families making up to $61,600.
Tenants were relocated to temporary housing during the renovation process and returned to their new homes in less than 60 days.
This spring, Enterprise will continue its Faith-Based Development Initiative with more free trainings and events to help houses of worship and other faith-based groups in Washington, D.C., bring affordable housing to where it is most needed.
As part of the series, Enterprise will host “Legal Structures to Protect Your Assets/Asset Management: Life After the Ribbon Cutting” in April. Participants in this one-day seminar will learn about the legal and corporate requirements for developing affordable housing as well as the methods by which the asset can be preserved and improved. Topics such as financial management, policies regarding vacancies and delinquencies, and capital needs assessment and implementation will also be covered.
The Faith-Based Development Initiative is a collaboration of Enterprise Community Partners, East of the River Clergy-Police-Community Partnership and Georgetown University. The group provides critical legal, capital and training resources to help organizations develop underutilized real estate assets into homes and other community facilities.
Washington, D.C., law schools are helping Enterprise’s faith-based partners navigate the often complex and cumbersome legal aspects of developing affordable housing. Legal clinics at American University’s Washington College of Law, George Washington University Law School, Georgetown Law and the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law have provided pro bono services to faith-based organizations, particularly in the early stages, to help move their projects forward.
It’s a win-win for Enterprise, and for the attorneys, students and staff who say they’ve benefited as well from a chance to help others through these partnerships. “This has been an interesting and exciting process for our students,” said Paula Williams, a visiting professor at George Washington University who is teaching the school’s Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic this year. “This first-hand, on-the-ground training has not only helped the groups seeking our counsel, but it has empowered our students to think differently about themselves as community development lawyers.” For more information, email Jennifer Bonsall or call 202.649.3923
Since 2003, the Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation has been a generous supporter of Enterprise's work in the Washington, D.C. area, donating more than $110,000 in grants to support efforts to preserve and expand housing for people with low and moderate incomes.
Said Don Gilbert, senior vice president/community development manager-Mid Atlantic region at Wachovia Social Responsibility Group: “As a company, we firmly believe that our support will assist Enterprise in providing a wider variety of services to low- and moderate-income families and to have a more direct impact on homeownership levels and affordable rental options.” |
