Dive Brief:

• A brace of developments that aim to provide more affordable and mixed-income housing in Washington, D.C.’s Park View neighborhood have moved one step closer to reality after the city’s zoning commission gave them a tentative thumbs up, according to Washington Business Journal.

• One of the schemes is the redevelopment of the Park Morton public housing project that aims to provide 189 new units. Of these units, 57 are set to replace public housing and 40 are earmarked for moderate income households. The remainder will be set at market rate.

• The other is the proposed Bruce Monroe project, which will include 90 public housing units and another 108 made available to households on a moderate income. It will include amenities like a park, playground and community garden.

Dive Insight:

Residential construction in Washington, D.C., is flourishing as the city scrambles to meet demand for housing from its rising population.

The NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood, particularly, is a hive of recent activity for more higher-end developments that are targeting the city's recent influx of young professionals. Last month, work started on the $100 million, 318-unit Highline luxury apartment development from Level 2 Development, Clark Enterprises and financing partner Federal Capital Partners.

The development is expected to set aside 4% of the units for households earning 80% or less of the local median income. The development followed an announcement by Toll Brothers and AECOM Capital in December that it had bagged a $130 million construction loan to build a 525-unit luxury apartment in the same neighborhood.

While NoMa is seeing many new upscale developments, the city is trying to provide more affordable housing to combat its high homelessness rate. A recent report found that Washington has the highest rate of homelessness in the country — more than double the national average. 

In a move to help take some pressure off the limited existing affordable housing inventory and create a space for a section of Washington's homeless, the city opened a $33 million, 124-unit residential property for homeless veterans in January.

The development comes as Washington, like other major U.S. metros, faces a shortage of affordable homes due to runaway prices and stressed supply levels, particularly as these areas see a population influx that is bringing housing demand with them. Like the new veterans' housing project, the Park View developments are expected to fit into a plan by city officials to try and bridge the gap.

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