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Somerset Development, Jonathan Rose Companies and NCP Celebrate Opening of Portner Flats
WASHINGTON, DC — A joint venture between Somerset Development Company, New Community Partners and Jonathan Rose Companies joined with community and elected officials to celebrate the grand opening of Portner Flats, a new 96-unit affordable housing high-rise built on the former site of Portner Place Apartments in Washington, D.C. Elected and public officials on hand for the celebration included Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser; Polly Donaldson, Director of the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development; Todd Lee, Executive Director of D.C. Housing Finance Agency, and Council Member Brianne Nadeau.
Portner Flats serves as a model of how to use zoning density increases to preserve and expand affordable housing in rapidly gentrifying areas. The joint venture successfully used the strength of the market to achieve the doubling of number of affordable apartments from the previous 48 to 96, by increasing the zoning density that permitted the construction of 288 market rate apartments on the balance of the site located in the 1400 block of U Street, NW in Washington.
Every resident of the original 48 apartments was provided relocation apartments during the 18-month demolition and construction process as well as a guaranteed return to the new building. Over 75 percent of the original residents are now returning to their brand-new, modern, energy efficient apartments. In addition, hundreds of applications are under review for qualified low-income apartment seekers for the additional units. All of the 96 units are covered under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program assuring affordability at 60 percent of Area Median Income of which half are covered by a HUD project based Section 8 contract which provides deeper affordability at 50 percent of AMI.
This project was powered by the shared vision of residents, the developers, the community and the D.C. Office of Planning to dramatically increase the density on the site and harness the economic value created by that increase to internally subsidize the development of the new high quality, green affordable units. Portner Flats was designed to meet Enterprise Green Communities standards, integrating energy efficiency, recycling, resident health and well-being. It also includes high-quality resident amenities and outdoor landscaped spaces. Amenities include a playground, a community garden, community meeting rooms, computer lab, fitness room and laundry facilities.
A robust array of resident services will be offered at Portner Flats, such as computer training, after-school and senior programs, financial counseling and job training.
The redevelopment of Portner Flats is well aligned with the District's priorities for preserving and expanding affordable housing options in walkable, infill locations with excellent access to mass-transit.
"We are extremely grateful for the support of The District for the Portner Flats project from its inception," said James Campbell, Founding Partner of Somerset Development. "Without the unwavering commitment and financing from DHCD, DCHFA, the Office of Planning and the Mayor's office, Portner Flats could not have preserved and expanded affordable housing at this location."
Previously, Portner Place was a distressed 48-unit, HUD Section 8, garden-style housing complex. A visionary acquisition in 2013 by the Joint Venture and the Rose Green Cities Fund, a Rose managed investment fund capitalized by Citi Community Capital, enabled the property to be rezoned, thus making the development of Portner Flats possible. The property was planned and developed in collaboration with the Portner Place Tenant Association, which exercised its right of first refusal through the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and assigned those rights initially to Somerset and then to the joint venture team.
At the time of purchase, the property consisted of four three-story wood frame apartment buildings with a large surface parking lot; and suffered from severe deferred maintenance in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. In addition to an equity investment via the Rose Green Cities Fund, Citi Community Capital provided the initial first mortgage loan through Freddie Mac. The D.C. Dept. of Housing and Community Development provided an acquisition loan.
The development team was successful in gaining broad neighborhood support for the redevelopment of the site into a new mixed-income, mixed-use property which preserved affordability for the original tenants and doubled the affordable housing units by cross-subsidizing the affordable project with funds from the sale of the market rate site. The project plans were approved by the Historic Preservation Review Board and a Planned Unit Development was secured to increase the allowable density on the site.
In conjunction with the tenants exercising their TOPA rights, the joint venture team obtained a Pass-through Section 8 contract from HUD for existing residents to assure affordability while they were off-site during construction and obtained HUD approval to extend the Section 8 contract for 20 years upon their return. The team provided support services to residents during their temporary off-site relocation and upon their return to Portner Flats.
ProjectsPortner Flats serves as a model of how to use zoning density increases to preserve and expand affordable housing in rapidly gentrifying areas. The joint venture successfully used the strength of the market to achieve the doubling of number of affordable apartments from the previous 48 to 96, by increasing the zoning density that permitted the construction of 288 market rate apartments on the balance of the site located in the 1400 block of U Street, NW in Washington.
Every resident of the original 48 apartments was provided relocation apartments during the 18-month demolition and construction process as well as a guaranteed return to the new building. Over 75 percent of the original residents are now returning to their brand-new, modern, energy efficient apartments. In addition, hundreds of applications are under review for qualified low-income apartment seekers for the additional units. All of the 96 units are covered under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program assuring affordability at 60 percent of Area Median Income of which half are covered by a HUD project based Section 8 contract which provides deeper affordability at 50 percent of AMI.
This project was powered by the shared vision of residents, the developers, the community and the D.C. Office of Planning to dramatically increase the density on the site and harness the economic value created by that increase to internally subsidize the development of the new high quality, green affordable units. Portner Flats was designed to meet Enterprise Green Communities standards, integrating energy efficiency, recycling, resident health and well-being. It also includes high-quality resident amenities and outdoor landscaped spaces. Amenities include a playground, a community garden, community meeting rooms, computer lab, fitness room and laundry facilities.
A robust array of resident services will be offered at Portner Flats, such as computer training, after-school and senior programs, financial counseling and job training.
The redevelopment of Portner Flats is well aligned with the District's priorities for preserving and expanding affordable housing options in walkable, infill locations with excellent access to mass-transit.
"We are extremely grateful for the support of The District for the Portner Flats project from its inception," said James Campbell, Founding Partner of Somerset Development. "Without the unwavering commitment and financing from DHCD, DCHFA, the Office of Planning and the Mayor's office, Portner Flats could not have preserved and expanded affordable housing at this location."
Previously, Portner Place was a distressed 48-unit, HUD Section 8, garden-style housing complex. A visionary acquisition in 2013 by the Joint Venture and the Rose Green Cities Fund, a Rose managed investment fund capitalized by Citi Community Capital, enabled the property to be rezoned, thus making the development of Portner Flats possible. The property was planned and developed in collaboration with the Portner Place Tenant Association, which exercised its right of first refusal through the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and assigned those rights initially to Somerset and then to the joint venture team.
At the time of purchase, the property consisted of four three-story wood frame apartment buildings with a large surface parking lot; and suffered from severe deferred maintenance in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. In addition to an equity investment via the Rose Green Cities Fund, Citi Community Capital provided the initial first mortgage loan through Freddie Mac. The D.C. Dept. of Housing and Community Development provided an acquisition loan.
The development team was successful in gaining broad neighborhood support for the redevelopment of the site into a new mixed-income, mixed-use property which preserved affordability for the original tenants and doubled the affordable housing units by cross-subsidizing the affordable project with funds from the sale of the market rate site. The project plans were approved by the Historic Preservation Review Board and a Planned Unit Development was secured to increase the allowable density on the site.
In conjunction with the tenants exercising their TOPA rights, the joint venture team obtained a Pass-through Section 8 contract from HUD for existing residents to assure affordability while they were off-site during construction and obtained HUD approval to extend the Section 8 contract for 20 years upon their return. The team provided support services to residents during their temporary off-site relocation and upon their return to Portner Flats.
