An All-Affordable Proposal for Florida and Q

• November 24, 2014
• 3 Comments

by Lark Turner

Mi Casa has submitted an all-affordable residential proposal for a parcel at Florida Avenue and Q Street NW (map). The proposal is one of at least three vying for the coveted city property owned by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).

The seven-lot parcel is just off North Capitol Street near NoMa, Truxton Circle and Bloomingdale. Developer Maedwell and a third company, Evergreen Urban, have also submitted bids on the site.

DHCD, which released the solicitation for offers on the site along with dozens of other vacant and blighted properties, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on a possible fourth proposal for the seven lots at the site.

Mi Casa is working with Powe Studio Architects on its proposal for the 27-unit Barnett-Aden Apartments. The development would include 13 two-bedrooms, 12 three-bedrooms and two one-bedrooms.

The units would be designed for seniors, families and people with caregivers and be adaptable to allow “aging in place” within the units. The larger bedroom sizes were selected in part because of demand for three-bedrooms at another Mi Casa project at 3232 Georgia Avenue NW. The proposal, unlike its competitors, is not mixed-use and does not include retail space.

DHCD wrote in its solicitation for offers on the site that developers exceeding the minimum required percentages of affordable units in their offers would receive “preference.” But since all three proposals include an affordable housing component, it’s unclear how much affordability will factor into the agency’s decision and how it will be weighed against other considerations, like financing.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/mi_casas_all-affordable_proposal_for_florida_and_q/9261

3 Comments

1. skidrowedc@gmail.com said at 12:51 am on Tuesday November 25, 2014:
   Snaps to Mi Casa for pushing affordable housing. Snaps to the architect for showing the louvers of the through-wall HVAC units- so many designers fail to indicate these elements, which are so often ruinous to a facade. The architect also picked up on a basic of the context--the bay windows, and zoning keeps the basic size/height in line. But eyond that -- Acck! This is horrible! There are some buildings which turn out better than their computer renderings, but that's the exception to the rule -- and usually means that high-budget materials/detailing rescued a crummy design. Hard to believe that would happen in this circumstance. Subsidized developments usually look worse than the renderings, since they face more rounds of more punishing budget cuts than market-rate developments. Based on these renderings, that's a scary thought.

1. JohnDC said at 8:04 pm on Tuesday November 25, 2014:
   I personally am not a fan of 100% afordable housing. It fails & falls into disrepair and will set the neighborhood back. Mixed use is where we should invest

1. Marvallous said at 9:16 am on Saturday November 29, 2014:
   This proposal is hideous. This parcel has so much potential - seems like a waste to make it all affordable housing.