Mission First recently received a $4.8 million Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) award from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund! This is the third year in a row that Mission First has received this award. In this most recent award round, we were one of only 48 organizations that received an award across the entire United States.

Mission First has used previously awarded Capital Magnet funds to support our important preservation and affordable housing work in key markets, quickly deploying this money to provide affordable housing for those who need it. In total, Mission First has received $10.4 million in Capital Magnet funding. Since the Fund is flexible, Mission First has been able to use its awards to support a variety of projects at different stages and in different communities across the Mid-Atlantic.

Here is a sample of some projects being funded by our Capital Magnet Fund awards of the past three years.

• 1234 McElderry Apartments is a mixed-income community of 104 apartments in Baltimore set to open this spring. The building will feature amenities for residents including a fitness center, club room, cyber lounge, two courtyards and 92 parking spots, as well as access to a first-floor retail space. 1234 McElderry is the first phase of the Perkins Somerset Oldtown Transformation Plan (PSO) in Baltimore, designed to create a diverse community that will enable current and new residents to live in economically integrated, high-quality housing with exceptional amenities. PSO will create 1,345 new apartments, including one-for-one replacement of 629 aging affordable apartments. Mission First along with its development partners The Henson Development Co. and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City will develop 449 affordable and 109 market rate apartments. The PSO project serves a neighborhood facing deep poverty that has been cut off from recent growth of surrounding neighborhoods and suffers from lack of access to fresh food and basic amenities. PSO will ensure that current residents can remain in the neighborhood and stably housed while also enjoying the benefits of a mixed-income community, a new school and park, a new grocery store and other amenities. This community is leasing up now – click here for information.
• Our Park Place Apartments project is a 32-apartment preservation project in Lancaster County, PA. Mission First is making many upgrades including replacing the building façade and windows, roof repairs and unit upgrades including new HVAC, kitchens, bathrooms, and floors as needed. Work will be completed in late 2021. Park Place is one of the few affordable housing resources in Elizabethtown, housing some of the most vulnerable residents in the municipality. It is critical to maintain affordable housing in middle-income communities such as Elizabethtown, which have access to quality schools, jobs, and other amenities that can give low income households better opportunities for upward mobility.
• Parkside Neighborhood Preservation is a historic preservation project of 82 apartments near Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. Mission First originally developed the 16 historic buildings into apartments in 2002, taking care to restore the historical integrity of the exteriors. The renovations will provide our residents with a comprehensive set of upgrades to their apartments – replacing HVAC, kitchen cabinets, and appliances; repairing/replacing flooring, light fixtures, and bathroom fixtures. The properties will also receive new roofs, window repair/replacement, brick and siding repair/replacement, and the construction of a new elevator to serve the property’s nine fully ADA compliant handicap-accessible units. Parkside will continue to serve our extremely low-income resident population, and a large population of individuals living with disabilities. The Parkside neighborhood in West Philadelphia is at high risk of gentrification due to its transit connections, close proximity to Center City and Fairmount Park, and its historic architecture. This preservation will ensure these apartments remain affordable and accessible to current and future residents.
• Opening this summer, Apartments at New Market West is a new, 52,000 square foot, 5-story apartment community providing affordable workforce rental housing to 41 low income households near the 60th and Market El station in Philadelphia. The Apartments at New Market West is a transit-oriented development featuring an exercise room and community room. Apartments at New Market West will bring essential affordable housing resources to a neighborhood that has faced decades of disinvestment and poverty, but has nonetheless stayed resilient due to the dedication of community organizations and community members. Like Parkside, this West Philadelphia neighborhood is also at risk of gentrification due to its transit connections and proximity to Center City and University City. Affordable resources like Apartments at New Market West will ensure that residents can benefit from investment in their neighborhoods and stay stably housed for the long-term. This community is leasing up now – click here for information.

In the next three months we also expect to be deploying much more CMF funding into more PSO projects that will be starting construction in Baltimore.