WASHINGTON, DC - The National Housing Trust-Enterprise Preservation Corporation (NHT/Enterprise), elected officials, local dignitaries, community leaders and Capital One Bank will celebrate the groundbreaking of the Monsenor Romero apartments on July 2, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.
The $19 million Monsenor Romero Apartment project located at 3145 Mount Pleasant Street, N.W. will replace the previous Deauville apartment building that was destroyed by fire in 2008, the most destructive fire in 30 years in Washington, D.C. The building is named in honor of the assassinated El Salvadorian Catholic Church Bishop who was a champion of the poor and spoke out against poverty and social injustice. The new construction of 63 affordable homes will fulfill promises made to residents by city officials that one day they would return to their homes.
"This is a monumental day for the neighborhood," said Rob Richardson, Development Manager for NHT/Enterprise. "The community has been working and waiting for this day to come for five years and they have been extremely supportive. Bringing life back to this building is crucial to this commercial corridor and the entire neighborhood."
The 3145 Mount Pleasant Street Tenants' Association purchased the property in July of 2010 with assistance from NHT/Enterprise and a loan from the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The tenants association entered into an agreement with NHT/Enterprise so that the property could be redeveloped using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits under a new limited partnership structure.
The 58,000-square-foot project involves the substantial rehabilitation of 31 apartments in the south wing. Thirty-two apartments are being constructed in the former north wing of the building behind the facade, the only portion remaining after the fire. Forty-seven of the 63 homes will be available at lower rental rates to former residents who were displaced by the fire. Four apartments are designated to become homes for the physically disabled. The project will meet Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, the nation's first framework for greening affordable housing, as required by the District of Columbia.
"When it's completed, the Monsenor Romero Apartments will bring hardworking families back to homes they lost in that devastating fire," said David Bowers, vice president/Mid-Atlantic market leader of Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. "Enterprise and NHT/Enterprise have a strong history working together to preserve housing affordable to low- and moderate-income residents across the country. We believe that everyone deserves a place to call home that is affordable and in a neighborhood linked to jobs, transportation, and schools. We look forward to continuing our efforts with NHT/Enterprise in other developments."
Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. provided $12 million in equity with Low-Income Housing Tax and Historic Tax Credits, Capitol One is providing a $9.75 million construction loan and a $2.8 million permanent loan, the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) provided a $4.1 million acquisition loan and a Neighborhood Initiatives Fund (NIF) grant from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development provided predevelopment funds.
"We recognize that helping to build strong and healthy communities - good places to work, good places to do business and good places to raise families - benefits us all and we are proud to support this and other community initiatives," said Ed Delany, senior vice president, Capital One Bank.