(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser celebrated the opening of Fortitude at Delta Towers, a 179-unit, 100% affordable housing development for senior citizens who are 55 and older located at 808 Bladensburg Road, NE in Ward 5. The new project replaced existing units at Delta Towers, while adding 30 more affordable units, including 18 permanent supportive housing units for seniors.
“The Fortitude at Delta Towers shows what we can achieve with bold vision and unwavering commitment to a project we know will benefit our community,” said Mayor Bowser. “This beautiful building, which will provide affordable, permanent housing for our seniors, is important to ensuring more Washingtonians can continue to call our city home.”
Fortitude at Delta Towers was jointly developed by nonprofit developer Delta Housing Corporation of the District of Columbia (DHCDC), District based developer Dantes Partners and the Rhode Island based Gilbane Development Company. The building has more than 10,000 square feet of amenity space that includes a conference room, cafe lounge, laundry, fitness room, games lounge, clubroom, rooftop terrace, and exterior courtyard.
“When we set the citywide goal of building 36,000 new housing units, including 12,000 affordable, we committed to ensuring all Washingtonians, especially our seniors, could be a part of our progress,” said Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio. “Our seniors represent the bedrock of our community and I am proud that Delta Towers is providing a safe and affordable place for them to age in place.”
The project received $23.3 million in Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) financing from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD); $30.4 million in equity raised from 4% low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) allocations and tax-exempt bonds from the DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA).
“I am grateful to my fellow sorors for building on our legacy at Delta Towers by developing a second Delta Housing project, Fortitude,” said Alice Davis, a founding board member of DHCDC. “Decent affordable housing for seniors is so critically needed in Washington, DC. It is a lifeline allowing for independence and autonomy for many seniors.”
“The Delta Housing Corporation has had a 40-year history of helping to create more affordable housing for seniors in the District,” said DHCD Director Polly Donaldson. “We are grateful for their eagerness to contribute to our goal 12,000 affordable units by 2025 and call upon others to help us meet this goal as well.”
In May 2019, Mayor Bowser signed a mayoral order directing District agencies to identify new policies, tools, and initiatives to begin fulfilling her bold goal of creating 36,000 new housing units, 12,000 of them affordable, by 2025 in order to meet the city’s growing housing needs.
“We are thrilled to deliver on the promise made to the Delta Housing Corporation of the District of Columbia to create new affordable homes for our seniors,” said Buwa Binitie of Dantes Partners. “All three developers, Dante Partners, Delta Housing Corporation and Gilbane are excited to apart of this project.”