CONTACT:
Candace Tyler
202-559-2342
ctyler@jubileehousing.org
Washington, DC – August 22, 2019 – Jubilee Housing is pleased to announce the closing of its purchase of 2326 – 2338 Ontario Rd NW. These properties will be used to build deeply affordable homes, but also approximately half of them will be set aside for men and women returning from incarceration.
United Bank, Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Justice Housing Partners, LP, provided acquisition financing for the development.
With this acquisition, Jubilee Housing expands the availability of justice housingTM in one of the city’s most thriving communities. The innovative model of justice housing combines high quality, deeply affordable homes with onsite and nearby supportive programs, in thriving neighborhoods. It aims to provide stable homes to families and individuals with the greatest barriers to high quality housing. This especially applies to men and women returning from incarceration, who not only have the same struggle to find safe, stable, and affordable housing as other households, but also carry the stigmatization of their criminal record. In addition, are rarely allowed the chance to benefit from living in a resource rich neighborhood full of services and opportunity.
Two-thirds of the apartment homes in the new Ontario property will be set aside for families and individuals making 30% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI), or about $35,000/year for a family of four. One-third will be reserved for households making 60% AMI or less. The parcels are located near Jubilee Housing’s supportive services and within walking distance of other nonprofit partners, grocery stores, parks, and the Columbia Heights Metro Station.
“Deeply affordable housing is one of the resources needed to connect residents who have fewer financial assets to the growing prosperity of our city. Justice housing helps level the playing field for families who otherwise may be pushed out of neighborhoods where they have built their lives. It fosters inclusion and equity for our city, proving that it is possible to locate affordable housing opportunities in high demand neighborhoods with ample amenities and resources. Jubilee Housing is committed to creating more justice housing for people who need it most,” said Jim Knight, Jubilee Housing CEO.
This purchase is the third financing transaction by Justice Housing Partners, LP, an innovative social investment fund that Jubilee Housing established in 2018. The Fund provides fast strike capital designed to facilitate Jubilee’s purchase of some of the last remaining affordable housing development opportunities in the Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods.
Institutional investors in the fund include The Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation, City First Enterprises (CFE), an affiliate of The Share Fund, United Bank, and the WS Abell Foundation. In addition, 18 individual investors and substantial commitments from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation and the Greater Washington Community Foundation were critical in making this acquisition possible.
“CFE is thrilled to be a part of this innovative financial solution that helps Jubilee extend its phenomenal work developing and preserving affordable housing in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods,” said Oswaldo Acosta, president and executive director of CFE. “The Fund shows that creative financing structures historically used by business and corporations can be put to use in the quest for a more equitable economy.”
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Jubilee Housing builds diverse, compassionate communities that create opportunities for everyone to thrive.