Greater Greater Washington, July 3, 2019: This Congress Heights housing will be permanently affordable
After two years of independently led organizing, the residents of Savannah Apartments are finally able to secure permanent affordability for their homes. When their building was put on the market in 2017, Tiffany Jessup and her fellow residents worked together to independently purchase the building.
Located near the Congress Heights Metro station, the 65-unit complex is a perfect target for the private market to redevelop. New projects such as the Washington Mystics’ entertainment arena have appeared as a part of a $65 million plan to remake the former St. Elizabeth’s Hospital into new retail, residential and office space, according to an article in the Washington Post.
The impending renovations of the Savannah Apartments mark the first official purchase of the Douglass Community Land Trust.
In anticipation of rising housing prices around the construction of the 11th Street Bridge Park, Ward 8-based nonprofit Building Bridges Across the River proposed the creation of a community land trust within their Equitable Development Plan. The 11th Street Bridge Park would be the District’s first elevated park, stretching across the Anacostia River to connect the Anacostia and Capitol Hill neighborhoods.
