Mount Pleasant Preservation Project

In October 2022, three new properties — Sarbin Towers, Park Marconi, and Richman Towers — joined the Jubilee community. The Mount Pleasant Preservation Project will advance the buildings for substantial rehabilitation that will establish perpetual affordability.

The three buildings were acquired when tenants exercised their rights under DC’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA). Tenant associations for each building organized and asked Jubilee to partner, receive an assignment of the tenants’ right purchase, renovate the buildings, and maintain rent affordability in perpetuity. After assessing feasibility, Jubilee negotiated a development agreement with each tenant association and began the acquisition process.

Financing
The purchases were made possible through financing provided by United Bank, a longtime partner who has assisted with acquisition of 285 units within the last few years; Amazon, who provided $15 million through its Housing Equity Fund; LISC DC; and Justice Housing Partners 2.0, an impact investment fund. Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund commitment will be rolled over into permanent financing, ensuring that rents can be affordable for families making less than 40% and 50% of the Family Median Income.

Additionally, the project marked the initial investment of the Justice Housing Partners Fund 2.0, which provides low-cost acquisition capital that enables Jubilee to better compete against market forces. Under the Justice Housing Partners model, a three to five year investment leverages more than eight dollars for every dollar invested, and yields a social return for multiple generations of Washingtonians with very low incomes.

In March 2023, Jubilee announced the awarding of a $185,000 grant from the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA)’s Inclusive Communities Fund to further the organization’s mission to create this new Justice Housing in Mount Pleasant. NHFA’s grant will support the development planning for the project, including project staffing costs and architectural design work.

NFHA’s Inclusive Communities Fund grants were made available as part of last year’s historic settlement with Fannie Mae that provided $35 million to promote homeownership, neighborhood stabilization, access to credit, property rehabilitation, and residential development. The Inclusive Communities Fund Grant Program invests fair housing settlement funds intended for community relief into neighborhoods or populations destabilized by housing discrimination.

What’s Next
Jubilee staff has met with resident households to assess composition and incomes. Household composition data is informing architectural design and unit reconfiguration to match resident needs, particularly families in need of larger units. Income data will guide post-rehab rent levels, financial projections, and subsidy sources available for tenants.