Additional affordable housing is underway at the historic Walter Reed Medical Center campus in Washington, D.C. Community partners recently broke ground on Abrams Hall Senior Apartments, which will provide 80 units for low-income seniors. This comes just two months after the groundbreaking of Abrams Hall, which will bring 77 units for formerly homeless veterans to the campus.
Both developments are part of The Parks at Walter Reed master plan, which will be comprised of 2,100 units of housing, of which over 400 will be affordable; retail space; office space; a hotel; charter schools; and open park space in Ward 4. The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center will remain a fully operational hospital on the site.
Urban Atlantic, Hines, Housing Up, and 1750 K Affordable Partners—a joint venture between Evergreen Urban and Blue Sky Housing—are developing Abrams Hall Senior Apartments. The development team will rehabilitate Building 14, originally constructed in 1976 as barrack housing for soldiers receiving long-term medical care, into the 80-unit community as well as space for nonprofit Housing Up, which provides case management, training, and resources to homeless and low-income families.
Of the 80 units, 64 will target senior households earning 50% or less of the area median income (AMI), while the remainder will be permanent supportive housing for senior households earning 30% or less of the AMI.
“Whether it’s through property tax relief or more affordable housing, we’re building pathways to the middle class for our seniors and finding new ways to keep D.C. affordable for long-time Washingtonians of all ages and backgrounds,” said mayor Muriel Bowser in a statement.
SunTrust Community Capital has provided a direct low-income housing tax credit equity investment of $10.8 million for the roughly $26.7 million development that is expected to be completed in July 2019. In addition, the project has received District support, with $9.7 million from the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing Production Trust Fund and a $168,000 grant from the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health. Financing also is being provided by Citi Community Capital and Freddie Mac.
“SunTrust is proud to play a part in this important development that will provide affordable housing for our local seniors,” said Dan O’Neill, president of SunTrust Mid-Atlantic Division. “Abrams Senior Hall Apartments and the broader Parks at Walter Reed are shining examples of the transformation of underutilized areas into vibrant and affordable communities.”
