10,000 Affordable Units by 2020: DC's New Housing Strategy

• March 12th 2013

by Shilpi Paul

In his State of the District speech last month, Mayor Vincent Gray lamented the lack of affordable housing in the city. “We once worried about the District becoming a city of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots,’” said Gray. “But now we are increasingly in danger of becoming a city of only ‘haves’.”

Now, he is taking action.

This morning, Mayor Gray released a new housing strategy for the city, created by the Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force, reported Housing Complex.

The 48-page report — Bridges to Opportunity: A New Housing Strategy for DC — echoes Gray’s concerns:

[There is] the risk that the District will become a place where only those at the lowest incomes (who have subsidies) and those at the highest incomes can afford to live—sending many working and middle-class households out of the District.

The plan pledged, among other things, to create 10,000 new affordable units by 2020, known as “10×20”. Here are a few other interesting highlights from the report:

• DC lost more than half its low-cost rental units in the past decade. The number of units that cost less than $750 per month fell from 70,600 to 34,500.
• The average rent for a unit in DC is $2,054 per month, and the average price of a home is $552,000. The median price in $439,000.
• Until 2020, the city will use subsidies to preserve 8,000 existing affordable units.
• The city will support the production of 3,000 market rate housing units annually, also through 2020.
• Resources towards the Housing Production Trust Fund, which is currently dwindling, and other existing housing programs will be significantly increased.
• A new program, The Housing Innovation Fund, will be created with the intention of financing “shovel ready” affordable projects, including the 10×20 goal.
• The permitting process for affordable and market-rate housing projects will be streamlined, and a one-stop website for affordable housing finance information will be created.

Last month, Gray also announced that the city would be pledging $100 million towards affordable housing, an amount that will surely help these programs get off the ground. Take a look at the full report here, courtesy of Housing Complex.

Similar Posts:

• Does DC Have a Housing Strategy?
• The Changing Face of Housing in DC

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/10000_affordable_units_by_2020_mayor_gray_releases_new_housing_strategy/6777.