The six-story H.R. Crawford Gardens will be designed and constructed to meet Enterprise Green Communities 2020 standards, passive house, Energy Star, and other energy building standards. Property amenities will include a green roof, a leasing office, a ground-floor community room, a fitness center, an outdoor terrace, and a permanent supportive housing management office.
Soto Architecture & Urban Design The six-story H.R. Crawford Gardens will be designed and constructed to meet Enterprise Green Communities 2020 standards, passive house, Energy Star, and other energy building standards. Property amenities will include a green roof, a leasing office, a ground-floor community room, a fitness center, an outdoor terrace, and a permanent supportive housing management office.

A 76-unit affordable housing development that will serve seniors, including grandparents raising minor children in Washington, D.C., has secured key financing.

H.R. Crawford Gardens will be the second development in the District that aims to meet the needs of grandfamilies.

The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) issued $25.9 million in tax-exempt bonds and underwrote $21.4 million in federal low-income housing tax credit equity and $4 million in District housing credit equity for the project.

“The need for senior housing in the District is great and continues to grow. DCHFA’s investment in H.R. Crawford Gardens allows us to address this issue as well as the unique needs of grandfamilies,” said Christopher E. Donald, executive director and CEO of DCHFA. “Living in this community will help to ease the financial burden of grandparents by providing affordable housing as well as creating a supportive environment of peers that are also caring for children.”

Additional financing for the $52 million project will come from the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development, which is providing a $15.7 million loan from the Housing Production Trust Fund.

In Washington, D.C., there are approximately 2,678 grandparents responsible for their grandchildren, according to Grandfamilies.org, a legal resource that supports these families. Nationally, the number is about 2.3 million.

Plaza West was the first affordable grandfamily development in D.C. It opened in 2018 and is in Ward 6.

Located in Ward 7, H.R. Crawford Gardens is being developed by Manna, Mutreja Development, MED Developers, and CRP Affordable Housing and Community Development.

Income restrictions for residents at H.R. Crawford Gardens will be at 30% and 50% of the area median income (AMI) or less.

The development will consist of 53 one- and 23 three-bedroom units. Twelve units will be fully accessible, and 15 will be designated as permanent supportive housing units that operate with Local Rent Supplement Program subsidies from the D.C. Housing Authority.

All the one-bedroom units at H.R. Crawford Gardens will be reserved for seniors. Fifteen three-bedroom units will be reserved exclusively for families in need of permanent supportive housing at 30% of the AMI. In addition, one of the three-bedroom units will be reserved for a senior resident in need of permanent supportive housing. The remaining seven three-bedroom units will house grandfamily residents.

The grandfamily program will be managed by the United Planning Organization.