Media

For Release: February 21, 2023

Ward 3 Councilmember Matthew Frumin Requests $100M for Ward 3 Affordable Housing Property Acquisition Fund 3

Northwest Opportunity Partners CDC  |  Ward 3 Housing Justice  

ORGANIZING FOR EQUITABLE HOUSING IN WARD 3  

February 21, 2023 Contact: Meg Maguire, megmaguireconsultant@msn.com,  202-546-4536

Frumin Requests $100M for Ward 3 Affordable Housing Property Acquisition Fund 

On February 15, Ward 3 Councilmember Matthew Frumin requested $100 million in the 2024 budget for “acquisition of land to be used predominantly for housing, with an emphasis on increasing DC’s affordable housing stock.” The request is in CM Frumin’s budget submission to Mayor Bowser, his first as councilmember.  

“We thank CM Frumin for this proactive, forward-thinking request which will stimulate the creation of affordable and welcoming communities,” said Meg Maguire, chair of Northwest Opportunity Partners Community Development Corporation (NWOP CDC), a member of Ward 3 Housing Justice (W3HJ) and Ward 3 resident.  

CM Frumin is following through on a 2022 campaign promise he made to fund the NWOP DC proposal to establish an Affordable Housing Property Acquisition Fund. This fund would enable the city to acquire privately owned commercial property particularly – but not exclusively – in the four planning areas defined in the 2019 Housing Equity Report: Creating Goals for Areas of Our City that are high in opportunity and high in need of affordable housing: Rock Creek West, Rock Creek East, Capitol Hill and Upper Northeast.  



The Fund would fulfill Mayor Bowser’s goal announced in the 2023 Economic Strategy Initiative to “explore land/property acquisition as a tool to create and preserve affordable housing” by enabling the city and qualified mission-driven affordable housing developers to move quickly to acquire non-residential public-purposed property to accelerate private sector production. 

“We believe Ward 3 workers should be able to live in Ward 3,” added Maguire. “If the city is serious about its housing goals, it needs a transformative idea like this fund to buy property and enable private sector developers to use their savvy and technical expertise to create significant amounts of new affordable housing. We will work with the Council and Mayor Bowser to realize Councilmember Frumin’s proposal.”  

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For Release: November 14, 2022

Mayor Bowser: This “Transformational Idea” Will Spur Quick Action for Affordable Housing in Ward 3

In response to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s call for “transformational ideas” for her third term,  NW Opportunity Partners Community Development Corporation (NWOP CDC) invites the Mayor and the Council to establish and fully fund the Affordable Housing Property Acquisition Fund (AHPAF)  to meet the goals for affordable housing in high cost, high opportunity areas where little available public land is available for development.   https://nwopcdc.org/the-case-for-the-affordable-housing-property-acquisition-fund/

“The mayor set a goal of 1990 units of new affordable housing units by 2025 for Rock Creek West Planning Area (predominately Ward 3).  We have achieved only 3.5% of that goal,” said Meg Maguire, Chair of NWOP CDC.  “Inclusionary zoning is producing only a small fraction of what is needed.  The truth is, that while we are creating many new jobs in Ward 3, people who work here cannot afford to live here.” 

The Fund will enable, mission-driven developers to move quickly to acquire and develop private commercial property for mixed-use affordable projects that include:

• 75% permanently affordable rental and/or ownership housing with family-sized units in four planning areas the city has targeted for more affordable housing:  Rock Creek West, Rock Creek East, Capital Hill, and Upper Northeast
• Priority occupancy for DC residents who have lived in the city for 10+ years or who have been subject to displacement and other types of discrimination
• Innovative models including social housing, land trust ownership, rent-to-own, limited equity cooperatives and other wealth-building strategies. 

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), institutions that lend money to developers of affordable housing, will administer the AHPAF similar to the role they play in NYC and Montgomery County, among others.  Two potential funding sources are proposed: 1) $100 million from the Marquis Marriott ground lease sale; 2) $120 million from an appropriation of $30 million matched 3:1 by CDFIs.”

“We must shift the focus from tallying “units of housing” to creating thriving, affordable housing communities where families can grow, build assets, and serve our city with their gifts and talents. By substantially reducing the cost of land, the proposed Affordable Housing Property Acquisition Fund can ensure a better and more just future for our neighborhoods and our city,” said Maguire.