MHP advocated for additional business grants for businesses along the Purple Line corridor. In The Baltimore Banner feature, MHP’s Director of Policy & Neighborhood Development, Chris Gillis, whose department works closely with businesses in multiple areas along the Purple Line, urged the state to act with greater urgency. He recommended that officials disburse the remaining $2 million in funding before 2027.
“A lot of the construction is going to wrap up this year,” he said. “Let’s get this money to the businesses now, as opposed to a year from now, when all the construction crews [will] have disappeared.”
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Several local media outlets covered MHP’s 27th Annual Angels for Children Toy Drive, which distributed nearly 1500 toys to hundreds of resident children across the nonprofit developer’s properties in Wheaton, Montgomery County. Among the outlets that covered the two-hour drive was NBC4 Washington. Ahead of the toy drive, The Baltimore Banner and Montgomery Community Media covered our press release announcing this year’s drive.
Each year, nonprofit affordable housing developer Montgomery Housing Partnership (MHP) seeks new, unwrapped toy donations for low-income children and teens living in our Wheaton properties. Volunteers help wrap the toys and distribute them directly to our residents on Christmas Eve.
Housing&, formerly known as The Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers, named MHP its 2025 Housing Achievement Developer of the Year. The Housing Achievement awards recognize outstanding individuals, housing developments, programs, and solutions that have made significant investments into creating more equitable communities across the Capital Region. MHP received the award during Housing&’s 34th Annual Meeting and Housing Expo in Washington DC on June 5.
Committed to fulling its mission of housing people, empowering families, and strengthening neighborhoods, MHP has over the years embraced a strategy of focusing some of its investments along transit lines, including along the ongoing Purple Line transit corridor project. The investments along transit lines demonstrate our strategic innovations in expanding access to quality affordable housing for low- and -moderate-income earners. At a time when many neighborhoods across the DMV have seen spikes in rent which bring financial challenges for low- and -moderate-income earners, today, MHP has expanded the total number of preserved or renovated units along the Purple Line corridor to 1,100, a productive step in preventing displacement. This brings the total number of affordable housing homes developed by MHP to about 3,000.
The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) recently presented MHP its Excellence in Affordable Housing Preservation Award in recognition of the nonprofit developer’s work on the Residences at Forest Glen. DHCD Secretary Jake Day presented the award to MHP President Robert A. Goldman during the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition’s (MAHC) annual Secretary’s Breakfast and awards ceremony. The Multifamily awards highlight some of the best projects in Maryland that have received DHCD support.
The Residences at Forest Glen, a ground up development of 189 units in Silver Spring, is one of the largest affordable housing projects in Montgomery County. Located near the I-495 Capital Beltway, the Forest Glen Metro station, and many bus routes, this $100 million multifamily development is a transit-friendly community with amenities such as a community room, fitness center, multiple courtyards, underground parking, landscaped green space, a community garden, and higher-trim design features such as floor to ceiling windows.
Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) named MHP the recipient of its 2025 Excellence in Restoration Award in recognition of the nonprofit developer’s work on the historic façade at the Flower Theater. MHT will award MHP and nine other organizations throughout the Preservation Month (May 2025) celebrations. The awards recognize outstanding education, restoration, and revitalization projects, as well as individual leadership.
MHP completed the reconstruction of the historic façade of the former Flower Theater in February 2024 after many years of the edifice’s disrepair. Located in the Long Branch neighborhood of Silver Spring, the historical edifice opened in 1950 and operated as a movie theater until it closed in 1996. The theater’s signature neon sign and marquee had been dark for many years, creating public safety issues and underutilized space on the block. For several decades, this historic building was left dilapidated and had its exterior appearance degraded by aging signage. Contracted to Donohoe, the Flower Theater’s project revived the iconic neon sign, relit the marquee, and renovated the ticket booth using original materials and techniques, reinvigorating a vibrant economic community.
MHP closed its deal for The Chimes at North Bethesda, a163-unit mixed-income affordable housing project. The $7M land sale closed on August 28, marking the start of the construction phase. The total project capitalization is $86M. The deal included 4% and 9% low-income housing tax credits. The project was awarded $1M from the Rental Housing Program and a $2.2M grant from Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund. The units will be reserved for residents earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income. Read the full article here. Read more about the previous reporting on the project here.
MHP has been named among the awardees of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Project Restore 2.0. This project is part of the state’s nearly $2.9 million initiative comprising three programs aimed at assisting small businesses and supporting local revitalization projects and activities in the Capital Region.
Project Restore seeks to activate vacant buildings, support small businesses, and increase local economic activity by providing financial support to improve the vitality of Maryland’s commercial corridors.
Chris Gillis, MHP’s Director of Policy and Neighborhood Development, said the nonprofit developer was thrilled to be a recipient of this grant awards. He stated, “The grant funds will enable MHP to make improvements to the interior of the historic Flower Theatre in the Long Branch neighborhood of Silver Spring and breathe new life into a cherished community space.”
For more details on the state’s announcement, click here.
To learn more about MHP’s efforts in revitalizing the Flower Theatre, click here.
(Silver Spring, MD) MHP recently received a $1 million unrestricted grant from the Citi Foundation’s Community Progress Makers Initiative, a program that supports visionary organizations that are working to connect low-income communities to greater social and economic opportunity. MHP will use this substantial funding to preserve and expand affordable housing across the DMV region in alignment with its mission of housing people, empowering families, and strengthening neighborhoods.
MHP was one of five nonprofits based in the greater Washington, D.C. area selected as part of the initiative’s fourth cohort through an open request for proposals (RFP) process, which focused on organizations working in the areas of affordable housing and access, economic development, financial health and workforce readiness. MHP will combine their local expertise and track record of community impact with a national network of resources and changemakers, which will accelerate their community-based work.
“We’re proud to be among the Citi Foundation’s Community Progress Makers,” said Robert A. Goldman, President of MHP. “This funding allows us to expand quality affordable housing for thousands of people in a region that is facing an affordable housing crisis. As the largest nonprofit real estate developer in Montgomery County, we are committed to serving low-income residents, and with the Foundation’s generous funding and extensive resources, we can amplify our impact.”
This news follows MHP’s recent announcement of a bold new campaign to make home possible for all, with a goal of doubling its impact by 2030. MHP’s affordable housing pipeline has been active and in 2023 alone, it completed the construction of Colonnade at the Creek, a 96-unit garden-style property in Takoma Park; broke ground on The Residences at Forest Glen, a 189-unit ground-up redevelopment in Silver Spring; broke ground on renovations at Worthington Woods, a 395-unit apartment in DC; completed the North Frederick Apartments financial close; and approved the sketch plan for the upcoming Amherst Square / Wheaton Arts partnership deal.
Now celebrating its 35th anniversary, MHP continues to provide wraparound support for children and families through its Community Life programs, in addition to supportive outreach to residents and businesses. The organization also leads affordable housing advocacy efforts throughout the region. MHP was named 2023 Nonprofit Developer of the Year by Washington Business Journal award.
ABOUT MHP
At MHP, we are dedicated to making home possible. Since 1989, MHP has preserved and expanded access to quality affordable housing. MHP is a private nonprofit that provides more than 2,800 homes in Montgomery County and surrounding communities. We accomplish our mission by housing people, empowering families, and strengthening neighborhoods. Learn more at mhpartners.org
About The City Foundation’s Community Progress Makers
With the support of the Citi Foundation, Community Progress Makers expand their work on affordable housing and access, economic development, financial health, and workforce readiness. The Foundation also provides a supportive community network through which these organizations can connect to learn from each other, share best practices and strengthen their roles as social change agents. For more information, please visit citifoundation.com/cpm and follow the impact these organizations are making at #ProgressMakers on social media.