Tag Archive for: affordable housing
The Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC), which includes MHP as an active member, has issued an updated draft Housing Action Plan covering 2023-27. PLCC is seeking community comments on this draft plan until April 30.
The draft plan proposes seven core actions that will guide the Coalition’s housing work over the next several years. The strategies are aimed at ensuring that families and individuals living near the Purple Line can benefit from the new light rail and related investments around it.
Click here for the full draft plan.
Click here for a summary of the plan’s seven (7) core actions: English | Spanish
There are two (2) ways to offer comments on this draft plan:
- By email: Comments can be emailed directly to Laura Searfoss, Senior Program Director, Mid-Atlantic, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.: lsearfoss@enterprisecommunity.org. Email is the best way to share formatted documents, such as letters.
Learn more about PLCC and its strategies and programs HERE.
CELEBRATING LONG BRANCH GATEWAY MURAL
Discover Long Branch Hosts Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Mural in Silver Spring
The Long Branch community celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 20 adjacent to El Golfo restaurant. The event was attended by community and governmental leaders, including Maryland Del. Lorig Charkoudian, County Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Will Jawando, and Bill Tompkins, president/CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, which funded the project.
The new addition to the neighborhood represents a continuation of MHP’s commitment to working with the vibrant Long Branch community to create a strong sense of place centered on the diverse business district and surrounding residential communities.
The mural was designed by artist Peter Krsko and implemented by Schwa Design Group.
The design is as an extension of the beloved toucan mural already on the El Golfo building. The bird is now hanging out in the jungle treetops backed against a blue sky. The mural serves as a gateway declaring that the area is “Long Branch,” further defining and strengthening the community’s visual identity.
Learn more about Long Branch neighborhood development and events here.
Silver Spring, MD (January 19, 2023) – MHP today announced it has acquired Rollingwood Apartments, preserving 283 units of critically needed affordable housing that was at risk of being lost, along the future Purple Line in Montgomery County. The Amazon Housing Equity Fund’s (Amazon) $28 million below market loan and financial support from Montgomery County played an instrumental role in this transaction.
Located near a Purple Line stop, Rollingwood is home to existing quality, affordable multi-family housing in a central location with extensive transit access. This acquisition furthers MHP’s mission to preserve and expand affordable housing along the Purple Line and other transit lines, which is also a top priority for Montgomery County and Amazon. Rollingwood represents an important milestone in MHP’s Purple Line strategy, protecting residents from anticipated rising rents that could cause widespread displacement. MHP has now preserved or created more than 1,100 apartment units along this path.
“We are thrilled to collaborate across sectors to protect existing residents and businesses from the potential displacement associated with the development of the Purple Line, ensuring that every person has access to the economic opportunity that this development brings” said MHP President Robert A. Goldman. “Rollingwood provides a new opportunity for MHP to preserve existing affordable housing and support all residents, furthering equity in our region.”
MHP plans to restrict 100% of units for residents earning at or below 70% of area median income (AMI), with 5% of units restricted to those earning at or below 30% AMI, 20% of units restricted at or below 50% AMI, and 50% of units restricted at or below 60% AMI.
Built in 1963, Rollingwood spans 13.96 acres in the Lyttonsville neighborhood of Silver Spring, an area with a unique history as one of the first Black communities in Montgomery County. Located at the convergence of Downtown Silver Spring and Downtown Bethesda, MD, Lyttonsville has easy access to the District of Columbia via connections with the Metro’s Red, Green, and Orange Lines, and is within walking distance of the future Purple Line Lyttonsville Metro Station, anticipated to open in 2027.
Rollingwood is a continuation of MHP’s work in Lyttonsville, which has recently included managing funds for the Friendly Garden Apartments fire relief effort and a variety of small business and community development initiatives.
This acquisition was made possible through the investment of many funding partners including Montgomery County, National Housing Trust, Amazon, Merchants Bank, MRK partners, and SKS Real Estate Partners.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to support MHP as they keep the Rollingwood Apartments affordable for the Silver Spring community,” said Catherine Buell, director of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund. “Preservation is one of the most effective ways to ensure access to affordable housing, and through this effort, residents will be able to remain in their communities as their transit resources grow.”
This is MHP’s third partnership with Amazon. MHP’s Residences at Forest Glen project was selected by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) to receive $75,000 in grant funds from the Housing Affordability Planning Program, which is administered by COG and backed by Amazon to advance initiatives to build affordable housing in transit-oriented communities. MHP also received a $2.2 million grant from Amazon to support the ground-up development of its Nebel Street property in North Bethesda, MD.
ABOUT MHP
At MHP, we are dedicated to making home possible. Since 1989, MHP has been preserving and expanding access to quality affordable housing. MHP is a private nonprofit that provides more than 2,800 homes in Montgomery County, MD, and surrounding communities. We accomplish our mission by housing people, empowering families, and strengthening neighborhoods. Learn more at mhpartners.org
ABOUT AMAZON HOUSING EQUITY FUND
The Amazon Housing Equity Fund has committed to create or preserve more than 10,000 affordable homes across the company’s hometown communities so far. Amazon’s commitment focuses on low-to-moderate income individuals and families, representing first responders, teachers, and service industry employees whose wages haven’t kept pace with escalating rents. To learn more about the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, click here.
Two MHP projects were selected by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to receive a total of $950,000 in restricted state revitalization funding as part of the National Capital Strategic Economic Development Fund.
MHP’s Nebel Street Apartments project, is being awarded $750,000 to support the creation of a pocket park, nature overlook, and public plaza in conjunction with the Nebel Street affordable housing development in North Bethesda, increasing equitable access to safe green spaces.
The second award will provide $200,000 in pre-development support for the Amherst Affordable Housing Development in Wheaton, enabling MHP to convert the property from 125 units into 250-350 units, more than doubling its capacity.
Read more here.
(Silver Spring, MD) MHP’s Nebel Street Apartments project was recently awarded 9% tax credit funds through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s 2022 9% application round for federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and state Rental Housing Funds.
Through a competitive application process, Nebel Street Apartments was selected to receive twinned 9% and 4% tax credit awards, the only project in Montgomery County to receive such funding in this application round. This will enable MHP to advance the project with greater financial stability and deeper affordability with10% of units reserved for families making no more than 30% of area median income.
The Nebel Street Apartments will be an asset to the community, providing affordable housing in a fast-growing, convenient area near transit in North Bethesda. The property in its current form is an undeveloped parcel of land. Once complete, it will contain 163 affordable units in addition to amenities such as a community center, classrooms, onsite leasing office, pocket park, and other green spaces available to residents and the community at-large.
In addition to state funding, Nebel Street Apartments received a $2.2 million grant from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund to support deeper affordability.
Governor Larry Hogan announced nearly $32 million in awards for 12 projects as part of this competitive round, including Nebel Street Apartments. Recent state awards will result in the creation or preservation of 1,340 high quality, energy-efficient, affordable rental units throughout Maryland. Read the Governor’s press release here.
Read the full media release here.
(Silver Spring, MD) MHP recently received a $2.2 million grant from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund to support the ground-up development of our Nebel Street property in North Bethesda, MD. This contribution will provide hard-to-find predevelopment costs for the project and will be reinvested into the property to write down rents so that at least 10% of the units can be affordable to families making no more than 30% of area median income.
The Nebel Street Development is a dynamic project that will be an asset to the community, providing affordable housing in a fast-growing, convenient area near transit in North Bethesda. The property in its current form is an undeveloped parcel of land. Once complete, it will contain 163 affordable units in addition to amenities such as a community center.
“We’re excited to partner with Amazon and serve as an integral part of their plan to preserve existing affordable housing and create more inclusive housing developments across the greater DC metro region,” said Robert Goldman, President of MHP. “With Amazon’s generous donation, MHP is one step closer to the completion of our Nebel Street project, which will provide critically needed quality affordable housing in Montgomery County and bring greater stability and access to opportunities for low-income members of our community.”
This is MHP’s second partnership with Amazon. MHP’s Residences at Forest Glen project was selected by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) to receive $75,000 in grant funds from the new Housing Affordability Planning Program. The program is administered by COG and backed by the Amazon Housing Equity Fund to advance initiatives to build affordable housing in transit-oriented communities.
With today’s announcement, the Amazon Housing Equity Fund has committed to create or preserve more than 10,000 affordable homes across the company’s hometown communities so far. Amazon’s commitment focuses on low-to-moderate income individuals and families, representing first responders, teachers, and service industry employees whose wages haven’t kept pace with escalating rents. To learn more about the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, click here.
MHP President Robert A. Goldman talked to Greater Greater Washington about the potential impacts of the Purple Line on the availability of naturally occurring, market-rate affordable housing, particularly in communities like Long Branch and Langley Park.
Read more here.
MHP was proud to host a County Executive Candidates Forum at the Long Branch Community Center on June 29. The session was co-sponsored by the Long Branch Business League, Community CHEER, and the Sligo Branview Community Association. More than 125 people attended. The session featured community resident moderators. Participating candidates were David Blair, Marc Elrich, Peter James, Hans Riemer, and Shelly Skolnick. They responded to questions from the community about quality-of-life issues, including traffic, safety, and access to affordable housing.