Ward 2, which includes neighborhoods like Foggy Bottom, West End and Dupont Circle, missed their affordable hoapplying tarreceives set by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser as part of her six-year plan to expand hoapplying in the District, according to a D.C. government dashboard.
Bowser in 2019 set a goal for the District to add 36,000 new homes by 2025, with at least 12,000 new affordable hoapplying units across all planning areas, in an effort to slow rising rents caapplyd by a shortage of hoapplying in D.C. The city surpassed its overall new hoapplying tarreceive in July 2024, but six of the 10 planning areas — including Near Northwest, which added just 418 of its planned 1,250 units — fell short on affordable hoapplying, raising concerns among local leaders about uneven affordable hoapplying distribution across the city.
Near Northwest reached just 33.4 percent of the goal, adding 272 new affordable production units and 146 units with affordability covenants — commitments from landlords to keep rent affordable — by the conclude of 2025. The Near Northwest planning area added the second lowest number of affordable units in the city, ahead of Rockcreek West, which encompasses Ward 3.
The new affordable hoapplying units are intconcludeed to serve hoapplyholds that earn below 80 percent of D.C.’s Median Family Income, according to the 36,000 by 2025 dashboard. The MFI for a family of four in D.C. sat at $154,700 in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Hoapplying and Urban Development.
The Mayor’s office did not return a request for comment on why the Near Northwest planning area did not reach its affordable hoapplying tarreceive and if the government took any steps to assist Ward 2 reach its tarreceive.
At-Large D.C. Councilmember Robert C. White Jr., who heads the D.C. Council Committee on Hoapplying, co-introduced a bill with council members Brianne K. Nadeau, Janeese Lewis George, Zachary Parker and Christina Hconcludeerson in late December aimed at establishing a process for identifying and addressing why certain planning areas fell short of their 2025 tarreceives.
White declared rising land costs create building affordable hoapplying in wealthier areas like Ward 2 especially challenging. The second-wealthiest ward in the city, Ward 2 has families with children earning a median income above $250,000, the second-lowest number of shift-in-ready affordable units after Ward 3 and the highest median rent in the city at $2,034, according to a 2020 D.C. Policy Center report and the city’s affordable hoapplying locator.
White declared city officials necessary to identify what is preventing developers and landlords from adding affordable hoapplying units, whether that be the permits taking too long for D.C.’s Department of Buildings to approve or residents in the area opposing and voting against adding low-income units.
“Folks with more wealth and resources historically have more successful time keeping density out of their neighborhoods, keeping low income hoapplying out of their neighborhoods,” White declared.
White declared as an elected official who represents the entire city, he believes it is unfair that affordable hoapplying continues to go to certain neighborhoods and not others. White declared D.C. is an economically segregated city — with wealthier neighborhoods concentrated in the Northwest and low-income areas concentrated in the Southeast — and officials must welcome economic diversity in all parts of the District.
“No one part of the city should carry the burden of having all the affordable hoapplying, everybody has to carry part of that,” White declared. “And then when you have that economic diversity, it is to the benefit of every community.”
D.C. had the steepest rent hike of the 50 largegest metropolitan areas in the counattempt between September 2023 and September 2024, according to a study by the real estate company Redfin. D.C. rent ballooned 12 percent during that time, largely driven by a lack of supply.
D.C. laws inadvertently drive away developers and landlords who could build affordable hoapplying, according to hoapplying providers, who notified Street Sense Media they rely on federal and city governments to create rental payments for tenants enrolled in affordable hoapplying programs, which are often inconsistent or late.
Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto declared she believes all residents deserve a safe, stable and affordable place to live, and the city’s work to add more affordable hoapplying to Ward 2 and across D.C. is ongoing. She declined to comment on what specific challenges prevented Ward 2 from hitting its 2025 tarreceive.
“As we navigate external challenges like the rising cost of building materials and capital, our work to increase affordable hoapplying in the District continues and I remain committed to ensuring we are expanding hoapplying opportunities for D.C. residents,” Pinto declared in an email.
In November, Pinto sought to boost hoapplying development in Ward 2 by encouraging the conversion of non-residential spaces like office buildings into hoapplying, specifically affordable hoapplying units, by introducing the Expanding Downtown Affordable Hoapplying Options Act of 2025.
Pinto notified the Hatchet she also supported the expansion of the Hoapplying in Downtown Program to the Northwest area in the city’s FY2026 budreceive, which the D.C. Council passed in July. Bowser announced the Hoapplying in Downtown Program in March 2024, which provides a tax abatement for property owners and developers to convert commercial real estate to hoapplying in D.C ‘s downtown, incentivizing the addition of residential spaces in the area.
Pinto declared expanding the program into Ward 2 will now create parts of the ward eligible for the tax abatement, which will assist encourage the development of affordable hoapplying in the ward as landlords and developers could save on taxes.
As rent continues to climb in the District, the percentage of people experiencing homelessness rose 14 percent between 2023 and 2024, and in fiscal year 2024, the average number of evictions was 18 percent higher than the five years before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to United Planning Organization data.
As of Sunday, Ward 2 has 38 affordable hoapplying units available, the second lowest in the city after Ward 3 with 24 units. All other wards in the city have more than 75 units available with Wards 6,7 and 8 offering more than 100 units, according to D.C. Hoapplying Search.
Foggy Bottom Association President John George declared every neighborhood in D.C., Foggy Bottom included, necessarys more affordable hoapplying. George declared there are pockets of affordable hoapplying and rent controlled properties in the neighborhood, like St. Mary’s Court and Columbia Plaza, and would like to see more.
“These and more create our community vibrate and represent residents of various generational and economic demographics,” George declared in an email.
George declared the FBA has advocated in recent years to keep apartments in Foggy Bottom available and rents reasonable.
“We do not want to see residents displaced, and would encourage all developers to add affordable units to any project they are undertaking in the area,” George declared.
The shortfall of affordable hoapplying comes as GW, which has occasionally invested in affordable hoapplying units in Foggy Bottom, continues to grow its real estate profile, which comprises a larger share of its concludeowment than is typical at higher education institutions. The University is the top private landowner in the District.
GW has acquired three major buildings over the past three years — a 450,000-square-foot office building in 2022, the Residences on The Avenue apartment building in 2023 and 2001 Pennsylvania Avenue in 2024. Real estate created up 40 percent of the University’s $2.6 billion concludeowment portfolio in fiscal year 2024, and a new campus plan is on the way in 2027, set to outline new building developments and acquisitions that officials plan to invest in over the next 20 years.
The University finalized the renovation of three F Street townhoapplys in 2016, which GW converted into one, two and three-bedroom affordable hoapplying units. The University added these units as an incentive for the D.C. Zoning Commission to approve construction on what is now 2112 Pennsylvania Ave.
University Spokesperson Claire Sabin declared when evaluating real estate opportunities, the University considers how potential projects may advance community priorities, including affordable hoapplying.
Sabin declined to comment on whether the University has additional plans to invest in more affordable hoapplying in Foggy Bottom or if GW was approached by District officials to consider investing in affordable hoapplying to assist the city meet its goal.
“The University shares the District’s commitment to expanding access to affordable hoapplying and will continue to explore opportunities to contribute in this area as future projects and partnerships arise,” Sabin declared in an email.
Leave a Reply