Number of Units

82

Year Developed

2013

Development Costs

$23.3 Million

Goal

Adaptive reuse of historic school building for affordable senior housing

Description

Built in 1912, the Margaret Murray Washington Career High School (M.M. Washington) School at 27 O Street NW was closed in 2008 and deemed surplus property by the District of Columbia Public Schools. Mission First Housing Group and its partners, Mt. Lebanon CDC and UrbanMatters Development Partners LLC, were awarded the site in 2009 by the Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development to develop affordable senior housing.

 

The 82-unit building provides studio, one and two bedroom units to seniors at a variety of income levels. Amenities include a spacious community room, as well as a library and community kitchen, outdoor courtyards and a roof terrace. A variety of historic characteristics of the school were maintained, including lockers in the hallways and historic windows, which were restored.

 

The project was financed with tax exempt bonds issued by the DC Housing Finance Agency under the New Issue Bond Program. Freddie Mac provided credit enhancement, and Capital One provided the letter of credit during the construction period.  The DC Department of Housing and Community Development provided HOME funding for the development, and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development provided predevelopment and Neighborhood Investment Fund financing. Raymond James provided low income housing and historic tax credit equity for the project.

 

Interested in living at House of Lebanon? Click here for more information.

 

Awards

• 2014 DC Preservation League Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation Design and Construction (Click here to watch a video about the project.)
• 2014 Committee of 100 on the Federal City: Vision Award
• 2015 National Housing & Rehabilitation Association J. Timothy Anderson Awards for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation 2015 Judges’ Award Winner: Most Advanced Financial Structure
• 2015 Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award for Best Senior Housing: 2015 Best Senior Housing
• 2015 AIA Potomac Valley Chapter Merit Award in Residential Architecture, Multi-Family
• 2016 Montgomery County Affordable Housing Conference Award
• 2016 AIA Northern Virginia Chapter Merit Award in Commercial Architecture