Brookland Manor residents keep on fighting the possible displacement they face with upcoming redevelopment.
Content categorized as Development

Brookland Manor residents keep battling possible displacement

Housing Authority and former Barry Farm tenants receive second chance to resolve historic preservation debate
The challenging balance to designate parts of Barry Farm and to provide affordable housing compelled the Historic Preservation Review Board to defer until Dec. 5th

D.C. Council passed new framework for the Comp Plan with focus on equity.
The D.C. council met to vote on amendments that change the framework for the comprehensive plan to focus on equity and the affordable housing crisis affecting the city.

Downtown Displaced: Gentrifying Mount Vernon Square, 1840-Present
An American University history professor documented planned gentrification in the Mount Vernon Square neighborhood of Washington, D.C., as early as 1850.

Barry Farm historic landmark application put on hold
The Historic Preservation Office challenged the District of Columbia Housing Authority to conclude discussion with the Barry Farm Tenants and Allies Association before Oct. 31.

Setting new standards for homeless families
There is a new housing complex situated just on the border between D.C. and Maryland at 4300 12th Street SE. It has 3 floors of single-family units, a public computer lab, free tenant WiFi, and a communal lounge, brightly colored and spacious. It is all brand new, with friendly staff and modern furniture. The most distinguishing feature of this new complex? Residents can live here rent-free.

DC residents launch a city-wide tenant union in hopes to foster solidarity across the District
Hundreds of D.C. tenants gathered on July 20 to elect a board for the first city-wide tenant union in years and share organizing strategies to preserve affordable housing.

15 feet and a wall: Why some homeowners feel marginalized by the city’s plan to help families without homes
Some Ward 1 residents say they have legitimate concerns about the construction of a new homeless shelter in their neighborhood.

What does affordable housing have to do with climate change?
A panel hosted by GGWash and Metro DC DSA discussed the role of housing in decarbonization, and why it’s not on the agenda in the Green New Deal.

Activists call for a strong focus on racial equity in DC’s comprehensive plan
Empower DC held a meeting regarding DC’s comprehensive plan. With the final vote on the Framework Element coming in September, the group urged the DC Council to use the plan to fight racialized gentrification.

The Douglass Community Land Trust is making its first investment to support community control among new housing development in Ward 8
The Douglass Community Land Trust announced its first project in Ward 8, facilitating permanent affordability to 65-unit apartment complex in Anacostia.

This map shows even more starkly how inequitably distributed DC’s affordable housing is
A 2018 map of DC illustrates the major inequities of available affordable housing in high-income areas of DC and concentration in a few lower-income areas.

The region has built a lot of housing – but not enough, and not in the right places
The authors of a new Brookings Institute report break down their findings about where housing has been constructed in the D.C. metro area and how that affects affordability.

Congress Heights landlord tries to avoid blame for apartment disrepair in effort to redevelop land
CityPartners and the DC Superior Court continue to wrestle over the question of housing repairs for a property in Congress Heights.

Apartment development proceeds behind the Masonic Temple despite pushback from new Dupont civic group
Plans for a new 150-unit apartment building in Ward 2 ignited frustration among members of the Dupont East Civic Action Association – a group that opposes the project.

Tensions at this Cleveland Park apartment complex reveal a lack of coordination among District agencies that support low-income residents
One Connecticut Avenue apartment building has become a focal point for criticism of the District’s subsidized housing programs in recent months.

Nadeau proposes affordable housing requirements for development on former “quasi-government” property
Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau proposed an amendment would include those properties under a law that adds affordable housing set-aside requirements to the sale of government land.

Mayor asks how to add 12,000 affordable housing units throughout DC by 2025
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser solicits community input though multiple summer meetings for the plan to build 12,000 new affordable housing units in DC by 2025.

Still Boarded Up: A long con in Congress Heights?
Geoffrey Griffis says it’s cheaper to replace Congress Heights properties than repair them. Attorney General Karl Racine says replacement has been the developer’s goal for years and low-income tenants have suffered.

Barry Farm residents seek historic status to preserve community and character
A group of displaced public housing residents have nominated their community for landmark status to preserve and honor its long history as it undergoes controversial redevelopment.