SOME (So Others Might Eat), a community-based service organization supporting residents of our nation’s capital experiencing homelessness and poverty, announced today that it has closed on financing for two affordable housing projects, Anna Cooper House and Karin House at The Parks @ Walter Reed, which together will provide 87 units of affordable housing for Extremely Low-Income Individuals in Northwest Washington, DC—specifically the Takoma Park/Brightwood and Logan Circle/U Street neighborhoods.
Karin House will offer 40 efficiency units for seniors and is the latest project to be developed as part of SOME’s Affordable Housing Initiative. In 2005 SOME set a goal of creating 1,000 units of affordable housing because we know that housing is the solution to homelessness. Today, we are proud to be more than three-quarters of the way to that goal, having created 781 apartments and single rooms for families and single adults. The Anna Cooper House project is a renovation of an existing SOME affordable housing program, preserving 47 units of much-needed affordable housing in Ward 2.
“Housing is the solution to homelessness,” said Ralph Boyd, President and CEO of SOME. “We are proud to continue to expand our affordable housing portfolio into Northwest DC, making these vibrant neighborhoods accessible for those experiencing extreme poverty.”
While SOME prides itself on creating safe and dignified housing, we know that a stable roof over one’s head is only the beginning. That is why all our housing programs incorporate comprehensive wrap-around services for our residents. Residents meet regularly with a case worker and together develop and work towards goals, such as attaining further education or full-time employment or working towards financial stability and have access to the full spectrum of SOME’s therapeutic services as well. This combination of housing and services provides greater pathways to economic advancement, personal growth, and a chance at a better life.
“It brings me great joy to announce that we are on a roll in Ward 4’s Walter Reed Campus,” said Acting Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio. “We are bringing 40 units of deeply affordable housing options for seniors to this growing new community—creating a truly multi-use and diverse neighborhood for our residents.”
Financing & Project Timeline
SOME began the Walter Reed portion of this project in 2010. Awarded a Legally Binding Agreement in June 2013, SOME has spent several years working with DMPED and, subsequently, the Master Developer awarded the project to move this project to fruition.
Anna Cooper House was submitted in the subsequent application to the Fall 2017 NOFA/RFP to DHCD for tax credit, bond, LRSP, and Housing Production Trust funds, which were awarded in June 2018. The timing and nature of these projects lent themselves to a scattered-site tax-credit and bond financing deal with additional funding from the Department of Housing Development Housing Production Trust fund and Housing & Urban Development HOME funds. We anticipate both Karin House and Anna Cooper House to open in summer/fall 2021.
We thank the development team and our investors and lender partners for all the efforts that have led to this successful closing.
- Owner/Developer: SOME, Inc (So Others Might Eat)
- Architect: Miner-Feinstein Architects
- General Contractor:
- Anna Cooper House – Bozutto
- Karin House at The Parks @ Walter Reed – Hamel Construction
- Financial Partners Include: DC Housing Finance Agency, JP Morgan Chase, DC Department of Housing & Community Development, Department of Housing & Urban Development, National Equity Fund