President Carter Digs Ivy City

President Jimmy Carter is in town today, but far from his old residence, as he starts his latest project in the District's Ivy City neighborhood. With few developers choosing Ivy City for their next big apartment project, the District of Columbia took matters into its own hands in 2008 and awarded 4 non-profit developers the right to redevelop, with District help, a smattering of vacant properties in northeast DC. Mi Casa, Inc., Manna, Inc., MissionFirst, are all taking part, but none as visibly as DC Habitat for Humanity with its former president in the roster.

While Mi Casa began their project earlier this year, Habitat is renovating 8 duplexes along Providence Street, beginning today, with the hopes of building several dozen more over the next few years to serve families at less than 30% of the AMI. Habitat has sold 7 of the 12 homes - 6 new and 6 renovated - and future owners will begin working alongside the professional contractors to complete the requirement of "300 sweat equity hours" for each owner. Less ambitious homebuyers can enlist "friends and family" for 150 of those hours, so those with friends moving to Ivy City might want to avoid phone calls from those friends in the near future.

The District is subsidizing the various projects through DHCD’s Ivy City Special Demonstration Project, the District is subsidizing the acquisition price for each property, in a bid to help stabilize a neighborhood isolated from development money and new construction.

The octogenarian president is in town only for the day, moving on to Annapolis tomorrow to throw his own sweat equity into his next project.

Washington, DC Real Estate and Development News

Ivy City's Jimmy Fund

News out of DC's (once?) blighted Ivy City neighborhood is sounding positive these days. It was a little over a year ago that the District announced it would team up with non-profit developers, Mi Casa, Inc., Manna, Inc., DC Habitat for Humanity and MissionFirst to rehab 37 vacant properties within a six-blocks radius in Northeast DC.

With nonprofit home builder Mi Casa already at work on their first units, DC Habitat for Humanity President Kent Adcock confirms that the Ivy City overhaul is on track to move into the second phase of development: 8 duplexes along Providence Street, NE. Adcock is not definitive about the completion time-line for the project, saying his organization will start with three duplexes but anticipates staying in Ivy city for three years, ultimately placing “30 to 35 families in these homes.”

Look for a star-studded ground breaking featuring 200 volunteers, an appearance by grinning former President Jimmy Carter and other yet-to-be -announced celebrities on October 4^th of this year.

In the meantime, northeast residents can stay up-to-date on project developments by attending the DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) public hearing on May 6^th at the Housing Resource Center on the first floor of 1800 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE.

In addition to getting a sneak peak at what Habitat has planned for 1817 Providence Street, NE, DHCD Senior Public Information Officer Angelita Colón-Francia says that first-time homeowners can attend the meeting to learn about purchasing options.

As Adcock explains, the majority of “the families we’re serving are below 30% AMI - for a family of four, that’s $30-31,000 max.” The sale of the first homes will guarantee that “no one should have to pay more than 25% of their income at 0% interest” to own a home. By acting as their own bank, Habitat can sell their homes at cost to area families.

It also helps that, according to DHCD’s Ivy City Special Demonstration Project web site, the District is subsidizing the acquisition price for each property. "The request for proposals committed $3 million in gap financing to the developers through DHCD. There is limited profit gain for the developers involved; therefore, the District’s commitment to provide gap financing is essential for the developers to complete the project.”

According to Adcock, Habitat is in the midst of “negotiating on an additional 15 lots with the District and 5 rehabs” on top of their current 8 home projects. He says we could see as many as 30 Habitat buildings and “full gut rehab” jobs coming to Ivy City before Habitat’s ready to call their portion of the Ivy City Special Demonstration Project a wrap. These next phases will sell at up to 80% AMI to bring a mixed-income vibe to the neighborhood.

In typical Habitat fashion, future residents will be invited to help build their own homes. Habitat has been working with Trinity Baptist Church and local ANC Commissioners to reach these potential homeowners.

“I think this project is just a demonstration about how collaboration and partnership really works,” says Adcock proudly. “In and of ourselves, we’d have trouble getting into a part of the District like Ivy City, but because the District jumped into help, we’ll really be able to help rehab and turn a part of the city around.”

Washington, DC Real Estate and Development News

Manna Begins Columbia Heights Condo Project

Non-profit Manna, Inc has just gotten underway in its efforts to bring 15 new condominiums to Clifton Street in Columbia Heights, removing one of the few remaining empty lots in the area. Though construction has just begun, the non-profit already has most of the units under contract. Manna - the developer, architect, contractor and even financier - obtained the lot under the now-defunct DC Homestead Program, which helped non-profits get District land for low-income development projects. Construction on the Cardozo Court Condominium, at 1343 Clifton, began last October and is expected to complete by early next year. Cardozo is one of four Manna condominium projects set to deliver over the course of the next year.

Cardozo Court will offer its homes from $175,000 to $260,000, available to purchasers earning at or below 80% of Area Median Income. Manna has begun signing contracts on the units, with nine already claimed.

The total development costs are estimated at $3.4 million and financing is being provided by Local Initiatives Support Corporation, BB&T, Department of Housing and Community Development. Since its founding in 1982, Manna has developed and sold over 1,000 units in the District.

Washington DC real estate development news

Manna Seeks to Buy Land, Under Their Building

Non-profit developer of affordable homeownership housing, Manna is trying to buy a parcel of land from the District of Columbia, but it doesn't need a real estate agent to find it. The land sits beneath the historic Whitelaw Hotel at 1839 13th Street NW, which Manna purchased back in 1991. The Whitelaw Hotel is a significant landmark described as a former "haven for African American entertainers, civil rights leaders and entrepreneurs." Manna has been renting the land since, and now the District is pondering whether to sell the land outright.

The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will hold a hearing tonight prior to submitting the proposed transfer of ownership to the City Council for review and approval. The current deal would sell the land to Manna for $427,500.

The transaction is part of the Land Acquisition for Housing and Development Opportunities (LAHDO) process by which the District leases land and sells any improvements to developers in order to rehabilitate the space and, in the case of the Whitelaw, to maintain the property for affordable housing. Under a LAHDO agreement, a developer leases the land from the district and within 5 years of the property being "placed in service" can choose to exercise an option to proceed with the land acquisition.

According to DHCD Project Manger Jim Thackaberry, Manna purchased the Whitelaw and began leasing the land in December of 1991. The Whitelaw was put into service in 1994 as a rental property providing hosuing for lower-income families in the Shaw/U Street community. In 1999 the developers began a series of negotiations with the city in hopes of purchasing the underlying land.

The hearing with begin at 6:30 PM and will take place at DHCD at 1800 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE.

Savoy Court Opens for Sales in Congress Heights

Savoy Court condominiums has opened for sales, adding another live project to the burgeoning Congress Heights neighborhood where St. Elizabeths is about to become headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security and where William C. Smith is about to renovate and expand a forlorn apartment complex.

Developer Building Partnerships LLC began renovating the 62-unit Savoy Court in 2007, converting the blond brick, art deco building into a condominium after partnering with Manna to help the residents purchase and upgrade the apartment building. Savoy Court began sales in mid 2007 after an initial phase of renovation, selling about half the units before halting sales and initiating the second phase of construction - stripping and rebuilding remaining units. With phase 2 of construction now nearly complete, the remaining units are up for grabs, starting at $159,900 for one-bedroom condos, with a few two-bedroom units in the low $200's. Savoy is also offering lease-to-own options for borrowers whose credit needs upgrading, with part of each month's rent going toward the down payment. Developers amenitized the gated community with a state-of-the art security monitoring system, roof deck, private gym, upgraded lobby, satellite-wired cable system, in-unit laundry, and landscaped courtyard. The newly rebuilt condos offer quartz counters, maple cabinets, and intercom systems. Savoy is located just off I-295, 1 mile south of the bridge connecting historic Anacostia to the ballpark and Capitol Hill, between the Congress Heights and Anacostia metro stations and across from Bolling Air Force Base. Developers of Savoy Court previously developed Woodson Heights Condominiums, Barcelona Condominiums, Verona Parc Condominiums, Park Triangle Apartments, Adams Court Condominiums, and Pacific House Office & Residential Condominiums. The sales center is open Saturdays and Sundays 1-4, or by appointment.

Washington D.C. commercial property sales news

Manna's Latest Condos Open This Weekend in Southeast

Affordable Housing provider Manna will host the Grand Opening of its latest new condo project, the newly-renovated Belgrove Condominiums. Just across from the Good Hope Marketplace, at 2760 Naylor Road, Belgrove offers affordable one and two bedroom units, starting at $143,500 for one bedrooms and $179,500 for two bedroom homes, but unlike many of Manna's projects will not be subject to income qualifications. Not walking-distance to a Metro, parking will be available to purchase.

But don't expect concierge service. In keeping with the profile of no-frills, affordable condos, the three-story walkup offers features like modern energy efficiency, low-flow toilets and shower heads, "resilient tile floors", individually-metered electric and gas, common laundry room, secure controlled entry, and private storage bins. Condos will be open from 1-4 pm this Saturday and Sunday. Manna acquired the property with a LISC loan in February of 2007.

Washington DC real estate development news

Manna Plans 24 New Condos in Anacostia

On August 17th, the DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will hold a public hearing on the disposition of the six townhouses on W Street, SE in Anacostia. Barring the unexpected, the properties will transfer to non-profit Manna, Inc, which offered $200,400 following the Solicitation for Offers DHCD issued in July of 2008. Manna's plans, designed by an in-house team, preserve the architectural integrity of the exterior walls, but execute a gut rehab of the interior. The end result will be 24 two-bedroom, two-bath for-sale units. The units will be approximately 900 s.f. each; four will be "accessible." A quarter of the units will be made available to households earning 60% or less of the area median income (AMI), the remaining 16 units will be available for households earning 61-80% AMI. Manna expects to begin construction in the first quarter of 2010. The project will be executed in two phases, and George Rothman, Manna President and CEO, estimated completion 12 to 18 months after the start of construction.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Mount Pleasant's Raven Gets Expansion, Upgrade

On the heels of a renovation to the three-story residences that wrapped up last year, one of DC's best dive bars, the Raven Grill at 3125 Mount Pleasant Street, NW, is now working on getting a new rear addition, plus an upgraded exterior, courtesy of Washington affordable housing developers, Manna, Inc.

"We're trying to make it look like the original. If you look around the Raven and the [neighboring Mount Pleasant Dry Cleaners], you can see that there are still cracks. We need a new coating that looks like original," said George Rothman, President and CEO of Manna, Inc.

Manna’s in-house development, design and construction teams worked with the Raven’s owner, Merid Admassu, for the build-out of the Antonatl Condominiums - a name invoking an El Salvadoran war hero, which you already knew. Manna resurrected the 12-unit, affordable condo out of the charred remains of 13 fire-gutted apartments above the fabled watering hole, built in 1928 and gutted by fire in 2003. Work on the Raven itself will include a 300 to 500 square foot addition to the bar’s rear, primarily for storage space. Both projects should be completed in one fell swoop.

“The [condo] construction was probably completed in December and people have been living in it…We haven’t finished the front of the building yet because we’re finding a sub-contractor to do the specialized work with those windows,” said Rothman. “Everything inside is finished and the outside, we’ll probably do that when we’re doing the addition in the rear to the Raven.”

For those fearful that their designated hangout for three dollar PBR’s might lose some of its old-school DC charm, Rothman emphasized that the bar won’t be going anywhere and should be keeping normal business hours when work gets underway in the next four to six months.

“The Raven is an institution. It will stay. That’s always been important to us” he said.

Condos Get Affordable (and Green) in Columbia Heights

District-based affordable housing providers Manna Inc. will soon begin work on the latest residential endeavor for the increasingly crowded Columbia Heights neighborhood: the Cardozo Court Condominiums. Located steps from 14^th Street at 1343 Clifton Street, NW, the 15-unit, low-cost condo development is being developed, designed and constructed in-house by Manna and will overtake a vacant lot once owned by the city, but long envisioned as a potential home for low-income families.

“We acquired the lot back in the mid-90s from the DC government under the Homestead Program. The exchange was that we got the property and would develop it affordably,” said Karen Williams, Project Manager at Manna, Inc. “We have to get approved by [the Office of Housing and Community Development] because it is a Homestead project. That program no longer exists…but is now administered by the Property Acquisition and Disposition Division.”

The three-story project’s units will start at 551 square feet for a one bedroom with the largest, two-bedroom units measuring in at 1025 square feet. All will be available to area residents making less than 60% AMI, and, though there’s no word on what types of amenities are planned for the site, the project will be built according Enterprise Community Partners’ “Green Communities Criteria” – a LEED “aligned” program specifically aimed at certifying eco-friendly, affordable housing. Given the project’s ties the recent flurry of similarly minded DC developments, Cardozo Court looks to be on the fast track to breaking ground by summer’s end.

“We’re two steps away from getting our building permit,” said Williams. “Right now it’s in [the Washington Area Sewer Authority] and then it’ll go to structural, but, with permitting, you can hardly guess at [a solid date]. Ideally, we would start later this summer or in the early fall.”

Prices at Cardozo Court will start at $175,000 and, once completed, the development will join two other two other District-sponsored, brand-new, affordable residential developments: Somerset Development’s Hubbard Place redevelopment at 3500 14^th Street, NW and Jubilee Inc.’s refurbished Ontario Court apartments at 2525 Ontario Road, NW in Adams Morgan.

Washington DC real estate development news

DC Commits to (Modest) Ivy City Redevelopment

The District government today announced that it is aiming to "transform" one of the city's most beleaguered neighborhoods by overseeing the redevelopment of 37 vacant properties within a six-blocks radius in Northeast's Ivy City enclave. Best known, if at all, for its ramshackle homes, illegal dumping sites and high crime rate, Ivy City will now host new construction and renovation projects awarded to four non-profit developers: Mi Casa, Inc., Manna, Inc., DC Habitat for Humanity and MissionFirst. It’s a move calculated to increase homeownership in a neighborhood weighed down by a glut of vacancies and a foreclosure rate twice that of the rest of Washington, DC.

"Just 12% of Ivy City’s residents own their homes," said Mayor Adrian Fenty, who referred to Ivy City's abandoned properties as "places to deal drugs and dump trash." Fenty noted "That’s one of the lowest homeownership rates in the city, but when these projects are finished, we can double that – which would be a fantastic statement about this city’s commitment to homeownership and neighborhood stabilization.”

Despite the uplifting mood of the press conference, expectations were not set high for the neighborhood that is isolated by Mt. Olivet Cemetery, New York Avenue, and the railyard, yet nowhere near a Metro station, and where many single family homes still list under $200,000 - without much interest.

Mi Casa will be moving ahead first with renovations of three buildings at 1302 and 1304 Gallaudet Street, NE and 1917 Capitol Avenue, NE. During Phase I, the developer plans to revamp 6 condos in the first property, with the intent of offering them to “seniors and extended families.” Four will available to those making less than 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI), while all have been reserved for area residents making less than 50% of the AMI. The second property, 1917 Capitol, will feature 2 affordable two-bedroom condos for those at less than 50% of the AMI. Mi Casa will be giving preference current eligible residents who have pre-qualified for a mortgage and “are committed to living in the neighborhood long-term.”

The remainder is expected to follow suit shortly after the completion of the first phase, with Manna planning 20 units, 15 for MissionFirst, and 8 for Habitat for Humatity. Together, that amounts to 58 new units for Ivy City – only 6 of which will be priced at market-rate. The projects will be combine renovations and new, from-scratch developments on vacant lots.

The Ivy City project is being partly funded by combining the $1 million value of District-owned parcels with $3 million from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The total cost is projected to be roughly $15 million and the neighborhood is still scheduled to begin receiving upwards of $3 million in infrastructural improvements beginning in May of next year.

The last time the District took a stake in Ivy City was when the DC City Council voted to relocate several Navy Yard strip clubs to the dilapidated neighborhood in order to make way for Nationals Park. William Shelton, chair of the ANC 5B was quick to credit the citizens of Ivy City with leading the charge to get District officials to take a second look at the state of their neighborhood.

"The tenants there, led by the Ivy City Citizens Association, have been at the forefront of this…It’s a very positive experience to see them determine their own destiny in terms of what the community ought to become,” said Shelton. “And, for our part, we’re enthusiastic to see that part of the city have an opportunity to have some those abandoned houses… renovated and restored." And for the fine folks of Ivy City, the modest announcement may not be a new stadium, but its a start.

Stanton Square to Rise Soon

Stanton Square, a 187- single-family townhouse community to be built on 8 acres between Hillsdale and Fort Stanton, received the official endorsement of the Zoning Commission last week. Horning Brothers, the development firm behind the project, is preparing to break ground on the first of three phases by early Spring 2008; some units are projected for delivery around September of the coming year. The timeline for construction on the remaining two-phases is largely dependent on the celerity of phase one sales.

Horning Brothers promised to reserve 63 of the homes for "workforce" housing, 20 of which will be set aside for families earning up to 60% AMI and the remaining 43 units for families earning up to 80% AMI. In addition, Horning will create a new chapter of the MANNA Homebuyer's Club, a "peer support group and homeownership counseling program," according to MANNA.

The project, including green space, is being designed by Vienna-based Lessard Group. Design of the new community will feature a pseudo anthology of architectural styles found throughout DC. "The fronts of the townhouses have a mix of Federal, Colonial and Transitional Victorian (...as opposed to Invariable Baroque) architectural styles," according to a Zoning Commission description of the project.

Stanton Square's assemblage of two and three story town-homes is self-described as "[Dazzling] your senses with an array of quality features and stylish design that add up to a homeowning (sic) value unmatched by anything available in the city," as stated on their website. Sales for the homes are to commence at the beginning of next year.