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Limited Equity Cooperative Embarks
on Renovation
Champlain Courts Cooperative, located in the heart of Adams Morgan, has experienced significant
change since May of 2006 due to Cooperative training classes led by Housing Counseling
Services. The training classes enabled members to confront troubling issues of mortgage payment arrearage and
an unresponsive management company. Using skills developed throughout the training, the newly formed
Board of Directors and members have taken control of their future and are working to secure the
life of the Cooperative in a rapidly changing neighborhood.
Recently, the Cooperative embarked on the ambitious path of complete renovation.
Partnering with a local nonprofit developer, Mi Casa, the association signed a
contract to overhaul the Cooperative's finances and complete a property renovation.
LISC Celebrates 25 Years
of Community Development
in Washington, DC
Twenty five years ago, Local Initiatives Support Corporation opened its doors in the
nation's capital. Looking back on 25 years of investing in neighborhoods,
one can see incredible transformation where the legacy of disinvestment and
blight left little room for optimism.
While the results of LISC's work in the physical landscape are impressive, the real story
can be found in the lives that have been forever changed: low-income families who never thought
homeownership was possible became first-time homeowners; the marginally employed found
living wage jobs; parents enrolled their children in quality afterschool programs and
affordable childcare centers; and residents took back their neighborhoods from crime.
It is for these reasons that LISC celebrates 25 years of community
development.
As part of this year long celebration, LISC honored three outstanding community leaders with the Arthur Flemming Community
Leadership Awards. In June, LISC joined with longtime partner Manna for MANNARAMA,
a homecoming dance celebrating both LISC and Manna's 25th Anniversary.
To chronicle this 25 year journey, LISC will publish the book 25 Years of Community
Development in Washington, DC 1982- 2007. A Book Signing and Community Development
Reunion will be held in April of 2008.
CDSC Co-Sponsors Affordable Housing Alliance Conference
Over 80 members of the Affordable Housing Alliance, the Coalition for Smarter
Growth and
the Coalition for Non Profit Housing and Economic Development joined forces on July
31,
2007 for an all day conference to develop a joint affordable housing strategy for the coming year. Conference participants celebrated recent legislative victories
including full funding for the Housing Production Trust Fund and the creation of the Local
Rent Supplement Program. The primary focus of the conference was to identify next year's
legislative and budget agenda in the areas of affordable and supportive housing. The
conference was co-sponsored by Enterprise Community Partners and the CDSC.
SOME's Barnaby House
Opens to Families
Families began moving into SOME's (So Others Might Eat) Barnaby House in June.
Barnaby House consists of ten two-bedroom units and
is located in
Southeast Washington. It serves extremely low-income families with both housing and
support services. Barnaby House is equipped
with wireless internet and has community space designed for after-school programming.
Interim acquisition funding was provided by the
Washington Area Trust Fund and LISC. Permanent acquisition funding will
be provided by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and local rent supplement
assistance will come from the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA).
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Millenium Stage Event Honors
the Late Gilbert Mead
Jaylee Mead of the Mead Family Foundation asks you to please join her family for a musical
celebration of Gilbert Mead's life on Monday, September 17, 2007 at the Kennedy Center
in the Concert Hall. This will be a Millennium Stage event from 6-7pm. There is no
need to reply, just come.
Shaw Residents Secure $7.8 Million Funding Guarantee
Members of ONE Right to Land: Shaw Community recently obtained a signed commitment letter from Deputy Mayor Neil Albert for
parcel 42
located at 7th St NW and Rhode Island Ave NW. This long-awaited guarantee assures that the Parcel 42 project will move forward
with $7.8 million in funding for rental housing at 100% affordability at or below 60% of the area medium income.
This victory comes after three years of research, organizing, advocacy, and support from allies. The project will include 92 units of
permanently affordable rental housing. Community residents are now working with the city and the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) to guarantee that funding
sources are found and that parcel 42 gets developed. Bidding for the project ended July 27th, and a developer will soon be selected.
SOME Continues to Pursue Goal of Creating 1,000 Units
of
Affordable Housing
Providing affordable housing to neighbors in need is critical to helping
the poor and homeless become independent, contributing members of the community.
SOME is diligently moving forward with its housing development, having recently purchased
three new buildings. These new buildings will contribute to SOME's goal of creating 1,000 units of
affordable housing. All three of the buildings were abandoned and will require complete
renovations in order to provide safe, decent housing.
The 50th Street property, located off Benning Road in SE, will be renovated
to create 74
efficiency and SRO (Single Room Occupancy) units. It will also include two staff units,
offices, and a community space. The South Capitol Street property is
being renovated to house 51 single adults and will include two staff units, community
space, and offices for staff. The Texas Avenue property will become home to 17 families
in two and three-bedroom units. The facility will have offices, a staff unit for a night
manager, and ample community space to include after-school activities for the children.
These properties will aid in SOME's mission to provide affordable housing in the Washington, DC area.
Manna's 25th Anniversary
Celebration Continues!
One of the major components of this momentous year is Manna's Quintennial House Raising. Every five years, Manna holds an
old-fashioned House Raising, where Manna staff and hundreds of volunteers come together to build a house from the ground-up. House
Raising 2007 will take place at 320 V Street, NE beginning with our kick-off event September 7, 2007. If you or your group are interested in participating,
please contact Jennifer McAllister at 202-832-1845 or jmcallister@mannadc.org.
To help celebrate Manna's 25th anniversary, the Manna @25 Campaign introduces DC's first "green" raffle, featuring prizes that promote
"green" transportation alternatives. Three lucky winners will receive a 2007 MINI Cooper, Segway Human Transporter or a classic Vespa
motor scooter. Drawing will be held October 25, 2007 at the 12th Annual Friends of Manna Silent Auction and Reception.
Raffle Tickets are available online at www.mannadc.org, and tickets for
the event will be available beginning in September.
Also, mark your calendars for Saturday September 8, 2007. Washington DC's premiere country-western band, Honky Tonk Confidential,
will be playing a benefit for Manna at Mackey's Pub (1823 L Street, NW). For more
information, please visit
www.mannadc.org.
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© 2007 NEWSBRIEFS is a bimonthly publication of the Community Development Support Collaborative (CDSC),
www.cdsc.org, a project of Washington Grantmakers.
CDSC invests in the revitalization of DC's neighborhoods and the preservation of affordable housing with capacity building grants, training,
and technical assistance.
CDSC | 1825 K Street, NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
phone: 202.296.4582 | fax: 202.785.4331 | e-mail: info@cdsc.org
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