The next chapter of Washington, D.C.’s long-gestating Barry Farm redevelopment is funded.
The D.C. Housing Authority and development partner Preservation for Affordable Housing secured $98.5 million in construction financing for the first phase of Hillsdale Flats, a 90-unit, fully affordable apartment project within the 34-acre Barry Farm-Hillsdale site in Southeast D.C., according to Commercial Observer.
The capital stack leans heavily on public-sector muscle. The D.C. Housing Finance Agency issued tax-exempt bonds and underwrote low income housing tax credit equity for the project.
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development chipped in non-controlling interest loans to cover predevelopment and infrastructure costs, while JPMorgan Chase and Fannie Mae provided additional financing; the National Equity Fund supplied equity.
Hillsdale Flats is the latest piece of a redevelopment that city officials have framed as both a housing replacement effort and a reset for one of D.C.’s most historically significant communities. Barry Farm, founded in 1867 to give formerly enslaved Black Americans a path to land ownership, had deteriorated by the early 2000s. After years of planning and political friction, redevelopment finally began in 2022.
Construction on the Hillsdale Flats first phase is expected to start next month. The plan calls for nine three-story buildings restricted to households earning up to 80 percent of area median income. Close to half of the units are reserved for former Barry Farm residents displaced earlier in the redevelopment process.
When fully built out, the Barry Farm-Hillsdale redevelopment is slated to deliver at least 900 affordable rental and for-sale units. That total includes roughly 380 replacement homes for former residents, along with commercial space intended to bring jobs and services back to the neighborhood.
The Hillsdale Flats financing follows another major Barry Farm milestone. About 18 months ago, DCHFA issued $61.1 million in tax-exempt bonds and backed $52 million in LIHTC equity for The Edmonson, a 139-unit affordable building on the site. That project broke ground late last year and is scheduled for completion late next year.
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